I squeezed some oranges from the fruit bowl this morning and did not realise they were blood oranges until deep red, juice poured from their cells and bled into the reservoir of my juicer. The liquid glowed with beauty. It seems that at the moment they are the only fruit that really are ripe, fresh and seasonal.
The juice tasted livelier, sharper and sweeter than regular orange and would make for great tasting jelly, pudding, and cake. Blood orange juice mixes well with glamorous Campari. Their sharp and bitter relationship seems to work well with smashed ice to cool them down a bit. The flesh teams magnificently with beetroot and watercress in a salad. And the bloody coloured juice can replace lemon in a vinaigrette dressing.
As I cut through my oranges, I admired the spoke like cross section reminding me of a bicycle wheel.
Maroon coloured athocyanins stain most but not all of the flesh imbuing the orange with special powers to help fight disease.
I grabbed my camera, scrambled some old spoons and glasses and took some photographs. This is a model fruit and loves being photographed.
The season is short (until the end of March) so make the most of these Mediterranean beauties while you can. They cost between 40p and 50p each.
I can't wa
it to learn more about the history of oranges from Clarissa Hyman's forthcoming book - O
ranges: A Global History, published by Reaktion Books.
Clarissa and I serve on the committee of the Guild of Food Writers together.
To make ....
Orange and Campari jelly
Serves 4
4 large oranges, juiced
8 tsp Campari
caster sugar or sugar syrup to taste
6 leaves of gelatin
Line a sieve with a piece of muslin and place over a jug. Pour the orange juice through the muslin and allow it to drip through. Add the Campari to the orange juice and make up the juice up to 300ml with water. Adjust the sweetness of the orange juice to your taste by adding a teaspoon or two caster sugar or sugar syrup* to taste. Cut the leaves of gelatin into small pieces and place in a heat-proof bowl. Cover the gelatin with about 100ml of the orange juice and leave to soften for 10 minutes. Place the bowl of softened gelatin over a pan of simmering water and stir until it has dissolved, add to the rest of the juice and stir well. Pour through a sieve and then into your chosen jelly moulds or bowls. Place in the fridge for about six hours to set.
*
To make sugar syrup
Ingredients
250ml water
250g granulated sugar
Method
Bring the water to the boil and then take it off the heat. Add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved. Any remaining sugar syrup can be kept in the fridge for up to two weeks.
