When you want to use sections/wedges of citrus fruit in your recipes, without the skin and without the tough and bitter parts that hide directly under the skin, master how to section your orange, lemon, grapefruit or lime. It will certainly make your dishes look elegant and appetizing.
Well-sectioned citrus fruit looks juicy, fresh, and appetizing; this image makes my mouth water. What is sectioning? Well, it’s a fancy word for segmenting or cutting wedges or supremes (this is French) from a citrus fruit without the skin and pith.
What do You Need to Section Citrus Fruit
You’ll need a cutting board, a knife and obviously the fruit; this can be an orange, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon or lime.
A flexible knife, like the one in the image, makes it easier, as it can bend according to the shape of the fruit, but is certainly not a necessity. I often forget that I have this knife and use my favorite chef knife.
Make sure your knife is sharp. Dull knives are never a good thing in the kitchen and are often more harmful than sharp knives (as long as you know how to use them).
How to Section Citrus Fruit
Step 1 – Trim the ends off the orange. You want cut off as little as possible, so do it carefully and cut off a little bit, you can always make another cut if needed.
Step 2a – Stand the fruit on one end. Insert the knife into the space between flesh and skin and cut at an angle following the contour of the fruit. Be patient and be sure to remove enough peel to reveal the fruit, but don’t cut to deep and remove too much fruit. Like in Step 1, start with a shallow cut and make a second one if needed. Fruits are not necessarily perfectly symmetrical, one part of the skin may be thicker than another.
Turn the fruit on the other end and finish it from this side. Inspect the orange for left-over pith and cut it away.
Step 2b – You will end up with an orange that’s clean of skin and pith and only the membranes between the sections are visible.
Step 3 – Hold peeled fruit in your hand and cut as close as possible to the membranes on both side of each section. Cut through to the core and a section of fruit can be released. Continue until all sections are removed. Squeeze the left-over core for lovely orange juice.
Note: if the fruit contains seeds, as many citrus fruits do, be careful as you cut to the core. Wiggle the knife a little to go around it.
Clean fruit sections are a delight to look at. You can make them ahead of time and keep them in an airtight container for about 12 hours. Store them in the juice that you’ve collected after the cutting.
Alternatives Way to Section Citrus Fruit
- Peel and section an orange by hand. This is a labor intensive and time consuming way, but totally legit and will work. Peel the orange by inserting you thumbnail into the skin (the top has usually a little give to it) and tear parts of the skin off the fruit. Continue until all the skin is removed. Open the orange by inserting your thumb into the top and tearing the fruit into two. Separate the individual wedges/sections and then peel the membranes off each.
- Peel the orange with a knife and section by hand.
- Use a knife to peel the orange, the same way you peel an apple. Holding the orange firmly in one hand, press the sharp edge of a sharp paring knife against the skin near the top and turn the orange in your hand while cutting the skin loose from the fruit. You’ll end up with a ribbon. Open the orange by inserting your thumb into the top and tearing the fruit into two. Separate the individual wedges/sections and then peel the membranes off each.
- Use a sharp knife and cut through the skin of the orange from top to bottom (only through the skin). Repeat this a few times. Use your hands to peel the skin off the orange or insert a small spoon under the skin and peel it that way. Open the orange by inserting your thumb into the top and tearing the fruit into two. Separate the individual wedges/sections and then peel the membranes off each.
- Cut the orange in half (horizontally). Work the same way as described in Step 1 through 3. This may be a little easier as half an orange is more stable, but you’ll end up with half sections rather than whole.
How to Make Peeled Citrus Slices
When you know how to prepare a citrus fruit for creating sections, you also have another skill under your thumb and that is cutting slices. Follow the directions up to and included step 2b. Place the fruit on the side and simply cut thin slices and you’ll have a wonderful pith-less slices that will honor your recipes.
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