Fight the Winter Blues with Sun-Sational Citrus!

Written by on February 15th, 2011.
Filed under: Farm Fresh

Who wouldn’t enjoy a spot of sunshine right about now?

Count me in!

While many of us are buried under ice and snow, the winter months are, nevertheless, “peak” season for many varieties of citrus fruits coming primarily out of California and Florida. Fortunately these areas have not been affected by unseasonable weather conditions, at least as far as citrus is concerned.

So much to choose from, where do I begin?

Well, the big story right now is grapefruit.

Sugar levels continue to increase as the fruit matures on the trees and right now grapefruits are being picked at their peak of flavor. (No wonder February happens to be National Grapefruit Month!)

Red or white, whichever you prefer, they don’t get any better than they are now.  Many feel that Star Ruby is the sweetest by far, but that’s your call, depending on personal preference.

Do they need to be sweetened? As far as I’m concerned, the common practice of sprinkling sugar on top is “gilding the lily”, but hey, that’s only MY opinion.

Varieties for Juicing

In addition to the more familiar Navel Orange, you’ll also find Cara Cara and Blood Oranges- all are perfect for juicing.

You don’t have to limit yourself to “juice” oranges. Mix up different citrus varieties to come up with your own signature blend!

We also carry a few juicers you can pick up in store.

Varieties for Snacking

In the tangerine family, look for Minneolas, Clementines, Honey Tangerines and the cutest ever little Citrines- perfect for snacking!

Uniq Fruit

Moving up the ladder to more unfamiliar territory, check out Uniq Fruit.

A native of Jamaica, it’s a cross between grapefruit and tangerine. The puffy, wrinkled skin is indeed unique on the outside, but inside the fruit is tart-sweet, extremely juicy, and separates easily into grapefruit-like segments.

Lemons and Limes

And, even though they’re not typically eaten out of hand, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention lemons and limes.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Meyer Lemons! They are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. Not only are they exceptionally juicy and not as tart as a regular lemon, but the fragrant zest has a tropical floral aroma that’s intoxicating. I have been known to zest them just to “freshen up” my kitchen.

And, finally, be on the lookout for the trendy new Finger Lime, also known as “caviar lime”, filled with caviar-like sacs of juice that pop in your mouth as you chew them. We hope to offer them in our stores in the future. Fun!!!

Looking for more ways to enjoy citrus?

In addition to juicing and eating out of hand, citrus fruits are used in all sorts of different ways. Here are a few easy ways to get you started:

Avocado Orange Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Recipes

Videos

Can’t forget nutrition!

Here’s what our Nutrition and Product Labeling Manager, Jane Andrews MS RD shared with me:

“Like all fresh fruit, citrus is an excellent food for anyone, but especially for a person trying to reduce their blood pressure since citrus is relatively low in calories and sodium free but also contains blood pressure friendly potassium.  All fresh citrus is a good source of a particular form of fiber called pectin. Not only does that create greater satisfaction, it also may help support healthy levels of blood cholesterol and blood sugar.  Citrus is naturally rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants.

It’s smart to make two of the “Strive for 5 cups” you eat every day to be from fruit.  Depending on the size, citrus may count as ½ cup (tangerine) 1 cup (orange) or 2 cups (grapefruit). “

So, Mother Nature scores again by providing us with an assortment of bold, sparkling, refreshing flavors to help us through the winter doldrums.

Are you making the most of citrus season? Let us know how.


20 years @ Wegmans
Manager of Produce Vegetable Meal Solutions

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5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Fight the Winter Blues with Sun-Sational Citrus!”

  1. Tried cara cara oranges this year for the first time. YUM. We prefer them to navels. I must say, though, that this is the very first produce that I found preferred product at another store than Wegmans. This is VERY unusual. The product at Wegmans is very small, and not very appealing in appearance. I found a much preferable product at Weis Market, at a comparable price. Make sure to buy fruit that is heavy for it’s size. That assures a juicy, wonderful fruit. Since I’ve been buying them, we eat more oranges than sweets. This, too, is unusual!:)

    Try them, you won’t be disappointed.

    Connie commented on May 18, 2011.
    Reply

  2. Nella,
    Thanks for the response. All the corruption in the USDA has given me doubts about anything labeled USDA Certified Organic. I know I can write to senator and share my concern about the labeling of foods, but that process is just slow and the system is so broken. Is there anything that Wegman’s could do to label the food sold in the store? Or have some kind of description of where the food products came from? For example, my local Wegmans gets some fresh produce and wine from local farms and vineyards not even an hour from the store! It would be so refreshing and such a great way to advertise for local, sustainable, organic farms if there was a picture of the farm/farmers/growers/volunteers/etc with a quick description of the journey the food took from the seed to the supermarket. What would need to happen to get something like that going?

    On a completely different note, we got the Uniq fruit this weekend and it was such a treat! I was expecting it to be more like a grapefruit, but it was so much sweeter and juicier! We tossed it into an avocado salad and our winter blues were quickly (if temporarily) melted away.

    Thanks and looking forward to the next postings!

    Mela commented on February 22, 2011.
    Reply

    • Hi Mela,

      Thank you for your comment. Nella is currently out of the office so I will respond on her behalf.

      We’re so pleased that you tried Uniq fruit and that you enjoyed this latest blog post from Nella. Our blog has been a fun way to share stories about where our produce comes from, as well as providing tips on how to prepare and enjoy! You’ve inspired me to give them a try too : ) I just tried a citrine the other day. They come in the cutest little package!

      As far as labeling goes, by law, all produce (fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables) sold at Wegmans must have Country of Origin Labeling. This is also the case for, “Food products, (covered commodities) contained in the law include muscle cut and ground meats: beef, veal, pork, lamb, goat, and chicken; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables; peanuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts” (Source).

      We are very committed to our Locally Grown program in Produce. We have been partnering with local farms for nearly 100 years to supply our stores with produce at the peak of their season. During locally grown season, we post signs near our displays with photos and descriptions of the local family farms that we partner with. If you’d like to get to know some of your local growers, we do have a place dedicated to this information on our website here. In the past we’ve also hosted “Meet the Grower” days at our stores to give our customers an opportunity to meet the people who sow the seeds and deliver fresh product directly to our stores for our customers to enjoy.

      Our blog is another way we can share more “seed to supermarket” stories as well. I like to call them “Field to Fork”.

      As always, we appreciate your feedback and are grateful for the opportunity to have conversations like this.

      Thanks for visiting : )

      Courtney Briggs commented on February 22, 2011.
      Reply

  3. I’ll definitely have to try the Uniq fruit – it looks so interesting! I’d also like to know more about Wegman’s stance on genetically modified foods. Seems like so many fruits these days don’t have seeds or are being genetically bred to have large amounts of peel at the expense of edible fruit, which increases the price/per pound despite having less fruit. Where do these citris fruits come from and what are the farming practices behind them?

    Mela commented on February 17, 2011.
    Reply

    • Hi Mela,

      Thank you for your comment. We have been collecting information and genetically engineered (GE) foods and talking to the experts, trying to understand the facts as well as consumer and grower attitudes.

      What we are doing is continually looking for certified organic and GE-free labeled products as they become available and offer those choices to our customers. Since there is no reliable test and no FDA regulation requiring companies to uniformly declare when GE ingredients are used, the only way you can be assured that a product is not genetically modified is by choosing USDA certified organic.

      As far as citrus is concerned, we don’t know of any fresh produce being sold in our stores that is from genetically engineered seed. Some of the well-publicized products – such as some tomatoes and potatoes – either did not succeed or have not yet made it into our market area.

      We will continue to research the issues that surround genetically engineered foods. Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns. It helps us to understand how our customers feel about this issue.

      If you do try the Uniq fruit, please let us know what you think!

      Nella Neeck commented on February 18, 2011.
      Reply

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