glut of citrus fruits

sloan

I know this might seem a strange question as most of you are dealing with snowy conditions, but I am in Cyprus and it is unseasonally warm. The fruit trees are laden and people are giving away bags of grapefruits, limes, lemons etc. Also, tomatoes are about 40p a kilo at the moment. Any suggestions as to what I could do with them?

lostinrates

sloan wrote: »

I know this might seem a strange question as most of you are dealing with snowy conditions, but I am in Cyprus and it is unseasonally warm. The fruit trees are laden and people are giving away bags of grapefruits, limes, lemons etc. Also, tomatoes are about 40p a kilo at the moment. Any suggestions as to what I could do with them?

• lemon and almond cakes. (delicious and freeze ok)
• curds....I wonder if curd would freeze too?
• Marmalades with different citrus...lime and grapefruit marmalades beat even orange I think!
• Icecreams and sorbets
• Freeze the juice for use later in the year when not so cheaply available
• Preserve the lemons for delicious Moroccan cooking (tagines with preseved lemons, green olives and chicken...yum)
• DH and I adore lemon risotto, and lemon pasta.

Its the glut of my dreams! Enjoy it!

adelight

Marmelades! Grapefruit marmelade is so delicious, it's the best preserve i've ever tasted. Lemon and lime is good too. Could you make your own juice and zest to freeze/store? I have NO idea if that's possible.
Tomatoes, hmm? Lots of salsa with diced tomato, onion with a squeeze of lime juice and some corriander and chilli. Make sundried tomatoes? Tomato marmelade or chutney?

I'm so jealous, I love citrus fruits and tomatoes but I do hate the heat!

sloan

Some lovely suggestions. I have been googling for marmalde recipes. I have limited equipment. I do not have a thermometer or any muslin. Could I improvise? I have a 4 litre pan but not particularly heavy based. Also, I have a blender and slow cooker.... and a bun tray. The apartment was just for holidays, but we have been using it more since I retired. (Very mse as no heating costs as yet, water heating solar powered, so low energy bills). I think I might need some more equipent, so suggestions as to what I should look for here, or bring back after Christmas in the UK would be appreciated.... as well as EASY recipes. TIA.
I am going to blitz tomatoes, onions and thin green peppers to make a base for pasta and chili sauces, but I am not very practical or imaginative.

lostinrates

sloan wrote: »

Some lovely suggestions. I have been googling for marmalde recipes. I have limited equipment. I do not have a thermometer or any muslin. Could I improvise? I have a 4 litre pan but not particularly heavy based. Also, I have a blender and slow cooker.... and a bun tray. The apartment was just for holidays, but we have been using it more since I retired. (Very mse as no heating costs as yet, water heating solar powered, so low energy bills). I think I might need some more equipent, so suggestions as to what I should look for here, or bring back after Christmas in the UK would be appreciated.... as well as EASY recipes. TIA.
I am going to blitz tomatoes, onions and thin green peppers to make a base for pasta and chili sauces, but I am not very practical or imaginative.

I got a jam themometre for the first time this year...have always improvised up until now, and in the end relied on the suacer method above what the themometre was telling me. Improvise! I've made cakes in metal saucepans and sieved through....well,all manner of things!

I'd see what things cost out there and then compare here, usually some things are cheaper elsewhere than Britain (especially if you consider luggage costs and ease) but some things will be cheaper here, so do a quick comparison when you've drawn up your ''to buy'' list.

edit:http://littlefoodie.blogspot.com/2009/01/nigellas-damp-lemon-and-almond-cake.html I found Nigella's lemon and almond cake online for you, we love this cake and though I haven't made it for a couple of years I can't think why as its very useful!

RealButter

If you google Nigella clementine cake you'll find the most amazing recipe! Any citrus fruit can be substituted but you might need a little extra sugar. It freezes very well too. I often bake in loaf tins, slice and freeze.

Seakay

for marmalade you don't really need a thermometer and you could tie the pips up in a hankie or clean jiffy cloth - make sure you squeeze all the gooey pectin rich gel out at the end of cooking. Use rubber gloves to avoid burns!
Stir regularly to avoid sticking in a thinner bottomed pan.
Freeze tough skinned fruit then defrost to chop easily.

ceridwen

In a warmer country like that you could probably dehydrate produce effectively without having to buy a specific dehydrator machine (as we do in Britain...).

Cant think where offhand - but I have definitely seen info. on the Internet re methods of drying food naturally used by people in warmer countries.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

So, theoretically, this should mean that the prices of these is going to be lower in the shops than in previous years?

[holds breath, checking for crash mat when she runs out of oxygen]

babyshoes

If you are juicing oranges or other citrus fruits, you can keep the peels & make candied orange/citrus peels. They are fairly time consuming to make, but really yummy dipped halfway into chocolate. It is a fairly long process which I don't have the energy to type up right now, but I am sure there are lots of recipes out there on the internet!

esmf73

Sloan - oh lucky you. Someone was on the radio yesterday saying it was 27 degrees in Cyprus. We came back 18 months ago (military move) and although it was a bit strange at Christmas I really miss it. Where are you in Cyprus? Anywhere near Larnaca? Just might be able to help a bit more if I know where you are. Have you tried looking on Angloinfo Cyprus for things? I found there is a good market for second hand things specially from expats. Some of whom might be selling up and moving back (FOOLS!!!) others just need to get rid. PM me for anymore help.

Enjoy the sun xxxxx

Try Nigellas recipe for Moonblush tomatoes (basically tomatoes dried overnight in the oven - gorgeous) x