. Garnishing with Citrus Seriously Soupy

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Garnishing with Citrus

Garnishing with citrus. Maybe not that first idea that would come to mind when finishing off a soup, but one that actually has numerous possibilities to enhance a soup and I'm not just talking about making your soup look pretty. The citrus family—oranges, limes, lemons, etc make up a group of acidic fruits that can be squeezed directly into a soup in order to balance certain ingredients and flavors in your soup, as well as solely for decorative purposes. I found a very detailed tutorial from TLC Cooking as featured on How Stuff Works about Citrus Garnishes. I tried the citrus peel, garnish loop and the scored citrus slices. Check out how they came out and the step-by-step tutorial from TLC Cooking:

Reprinted from How to Garnish by the Editors of Easy Home Cooking Magazine as featured on TLC Cooking:

Candied Citrus Peel 



To candy citrus peel garnishes:
  • Wash fruit; dry thoroughly. Cut strips of peel from fruit with vegetable peeler.
  • Place the strips of peel on cutting board. If necessary, scrape cut side of peel with paring knife to remove white membrane.
  • Cut peel into very thin strips. 
  • Combine equal amounts of sugar and water in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Boil 3 minutes. You will need about 1-1/2 cups each of granulated sugar and water for each piece of whole fruit. 
  • Carefully add strips of peel to boiling mixture.
  • Reduce heat to low. Simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until peel turns completely translucent. 
  • Place wire strainer or sieve over bowl. Spoon strips of peel into strainer or sieve; drain thoroughly. 
  • Add additional sugar to a re-sealable plastic food storage bag. Add strips of peel; seal bag. Shake until strips are evenly coated with sugar. Remove strips from bag; place on waxed paper to dry thoroughly.  
  • Garnish as desired.

Citrus Knots

To tie citrus knot garnishes:  
  • Wash citrus fruit; dry thoroughly. Cut strips of peel from fruit with vegetable peeler. 
  • Place the strips of peel on cutting board. If necessary, scrape cut side of peel with paring knife to remove white membrane. 
  • Cut strips into 3-1/2 X 1/8-inch pieces. 
  • Tie each piece into a knot. 
  • Garnish as desired.

 Citrus Loop
 To make citrus loop garnishes:  
  • Wash citrus fruit; dry thoroughly. Place fruit on cutting board; cut crosswise into thin slices with utility knife. 
  • Cut each slice in half crosswise. 
  • Carefully cut each half slice between peel and fruit with paring knife to loosen peel from fruit, cutting about three-fourths around the inside of the peel. (Fruit should remain attached to about one-fourth of the length of the peel.) 
  • Holding free end of peel, carefully curl it under, tucking it up against attached part of peel. 
  • Garnish as desired.
Scored Citrus Slices


 To score citrus slice garnishes: 
  • Wash citrus fruit; dry thoroughly. Cut a shallow groove into the peel with citrus stripper or tip of grapefruit spoon, cutting lengthwise from stem end to other end. 
  • Continue to cut grooves about 1/4 inch apart until completely around fruit.     
  • Place fruit on cutting board; thinly slice crosswise with paring knife.
  • Garnish as desired. 
* I did not have a citrus stripper or tip of grapefruit spoon, so I attempted to do my best with a small knife. This resulted in a thicker and a bit messier model than the TLC one.
 

Soups that Work with Citrus Garnishes
Limes:
  • Black Bean Soup
  • Corn Soup
  • Tortilla Soup
  • Avocado Soup
  • Pumpkin Soup
  • Coconut Soup
Lemons:
  • Chicken Rice Soup
  • Lemon Orzo Soup
  • Fish-based soup
 Oranges:
  • Carrot Soup
  • Butternut Squash Soup
  • Apple Soup





    What type of citrus garnishes have you used and on what type of soup?
    Seriously Soupy Serena





3 comments:

  1. Seriously brilliant and novel!! We have a lemon tree... ah, new inspiration!! Thanks for posting this great information.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great post Serena. I love using lemon to brighten up so many things. And I recently discovered that orange pairs well with garlic which might go well with one of these soup recommendations.

    I love the focus on one area of food. Great concept!

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