Lemon

lemon

The abused fruit in my kitchen! I use lemon very often for drinks like caperinha and gin tonic. In cooking, I use its zest and juice almost all the time. I always make sure I have lemon all the time.. It’s a must!

Know more about lemon:
The lemon, Citrus × limon, is a citrus tree, a hybrid of cultivated origin. The fruit are cultivated primarily for their juice, though the pulp and rind (zest) are also used, primarily in cooking or mixing. Lemon juice is about 5% citric acid, which gives lemons a sour taste.
This is a small tree, grows to 6 m (20 ft) but usually smaller. The branches are thorny, and form an open crown. The leaves are elliptical-acuminate. Flowers are violet and streaked in the interior and white on the outside. On a lemon tree, flowers and ripe fruits can be found at the same time.
Both lemons and limes are regularly served as lemonade (natural lemon with water and sugar) or limeade, its equivalent, or as a garnish for drinks such as iced tea or a soft drink, with a slice either inside or on the rim of the glass. Only lemons, however, are used in the Italian liqueur Limoncello. A wedge of lemon is also often used to add flavor to water.
Lemon juice is typically squeezed onto fish dishes in restaurants in the United Kingdom and other countries; the acidic juice neutralizes the taste of amines in fish. Lemon juice is also sprinkled on cut fruit, such as apples, to prevent oxidation which would otherwise rapidly darken the fruit, making it less appetizing. Some people like to eat lemons as fruit (however, water should be consumed afterwards, to wash the citric acid and sugar from the teeth, which might otherwise promote tooth decay).
A common school experiment involving lemons is to attach electrodes and use them as a battery to power a light. The electricity generated may also be used to power a motor to move the lemons (on wheels) like a car or truck. These experiments also work with other fruit and with potatoes.
Propagation is by grafting as the stock is vulnerable to cankers and dry rot.
Lemon juice contains approximately 500 milligrams of vitamin C and 50 grams of citric acid per liter.
In recent times, the Australian bush food Lemon Myrtle has become a popular alternative to lemons. The crushed and dried leaves and edible essential oils have a strong, sweet lemon taste, but contain no citric acid. Lemon Myrtle is popular in foods that curdle with lemon juice (such as cheesecakes and ice-cream).
Drinking lemon juice with warm water may clean out your gallbladder, detox your system and help you lose weight.

link to source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon

Orange

orange

Orange is one of my favorite fruit next to mango. I like pure orange juice, undiluted and without sugar. Can somebody squeeze them for me please?

Know more about orange:
Oranges are widely grown in warm climates worldwide, and the flavors of orange vary from sweet to sour. The fruit is commonly peeled and eaten fresh, or squeezed for its juice. It has a thick bitter rind that is usually discarded, but can be processed into animal feed by removing water using pressure and heat. It is also used in certain recipes as flavoring or a garnish. The outer-most layer of the rind is grated or thinly veneered with a tool called a zester, to produce orange zest, popular in cooking because it has a flavor similar to the fleshy inner part of the orange. The white part of the rind, called the pericarp or pith, is a source of pectin.
Sweet orange oil consists of about 90% d-Limonene, a solvent used in various household chemicals, such as to condition wooden furniture, and along with other citrus oils in grease removal and as a hand-cleansing agent. It is an efficient cleaning agent which is environmentally friendly, and much less toxic than petroleum distillates. It also smells much more pleasant than other cleaning agents.
The orange blossom, which is the state flower of Florida, is traditionally associated with good fortune, and was popular in bridal bouquets and headwreaths for weddings for some time. The petals of orange blossom can also be made into a delicately citrus-scented version of rosewater.
Orange blossom honey, or actually citrus honey, is produced by putting beehives in the citrus groves during bloom, which also pollinates seeded citrus varieties. Orange blossom honey is highly prized, and tastes much like orange.

souce link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_%28fruit%29

Grapefruit

grapefruit

I am amazed with this colorful bitter fruit. Here are some fact about grapefruit and I quote:

"The grapefruit is a sub-tropical citrus tree grown for its fruit, which are also known as grapefruit.

The evergreen tree is usually found at around 5-6 m tall, although it can reach 13-15 m. The leaves are dark green, long (up to 15 cm) and thin. It produces 5 cm white four-petalled flowers. The fruit is yellow-skinned, largely oblate and ranges in diameter from 10-15 cm and has an acidic yellow segmented pulp. The numerous cultivars include the white grapefruit and the red, of which the 1929 US Ruby Red (of the Redblush variety) has a patent. The fruit has only become popular from the late 19th century, before that it was only grown as an ornamental plant. The US quickly became a major producer of the fruit, with orchards in Florida and Texas. In Spanish the fruit is known as toronja or pomelo.

The grapefruit was known as the shaddock until the 1800s. Its current name alludes to clusters of the fruit on the tree. Botannically, it was not distinguished from the pomelo until the 1830s, when it was given the name Citrus paradisi. Its true origins were not determined until the 1950s. This led to the official name being altered to Citrus × paradisi.
Grapefruit can have a number of interactions with drugs, often increasing the effective potency of compounds. Grapefruit contains naringenin and bergamottin, which inhibit the cytochrome P450 isoform CYP3A4 in the liver. It is via inhibition of this enzyme that grapefruit increases the effects of caffeine, simvastatin, terfenadine, felodipine, nifedipine, verapamil, estradiol, midazolam, tacrolimus, dextromethorphan (significant only at recreational doses), benzodiazepines and cyclosporine A. This effect was responsible for a number of deaths due to overdosing on medication, which lead to its descovery. Grapefruit seed extract is a strong antimicrobial with proven activity against bacteria and fungi. It also has antioxidant properties.
Grapefruit forms a core part of the "grapefruit diet", the theory being that the fruit's low glycemic index is able to help the body's metabolism burn fat." according to Wikipedia encyclopedia.

source Link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit

The Citrus Family

Citrus Family

Got a couple of citrus family at home this week.. I love its gorgeous picture! Here, I got Lemon, orange, and grapefruit. I’m just fascinated with their contrasts in tastes and color! Lemon is too sour, grapefruit is bitter, and orange is sweet.