Well this has to be the most drank juice and used fresh fruit on the bar and in the home and the most famous juice. Orange juice is in a class of it’s own, but the fruit itself mainly can only be used as a juice or a few slices for muddling or the skin has some great oils and an orange is made up of thousands of little sacs of juice.
It’s best to split the orange in to two main groups the sweet orange (citrus sinensis) and the bitter orange (citrus aurantium). The bitter orange (sevilla, sour orange, and bigarade) is a native of south East Asia and has been cultivated for 6,000 years. The sweet orange (china sweet orange, Malta orange) are also from south east Asia, but records and the name suggest its from china. The bitter orange made it first to Europe followed much later by the sweet orange and then the sweet orange made it first to the new world to Florida. Then on to California much later and I will have no idea where the oranges come from in your local market, but rest assured it probably won’t be far. You might be lucky and your local supplier has excellent oranges and you might be unlucky. Most fruit stalls in Asia can make a fresh juice in front of you so it’s a nice way to find out if the oranges are good. They will differ from month to month depending on the season and weather. It’s important to try and get the ones with tough skin the soft skin ones won’t have much flavour in my opinion and the hard rough skin will normally have a lot of oil, which is great for flaming the peel. Thin skin and heavy feel can mean lots of juice and a thick skin can mean less juice, again I say it, taste one before you buy more. If you are having a party and using fresh orange juice you can buy it in a carton if you want, but market stalls can make it in front of you and it will last a few hours before you make your drinks, but squeezing it at home your self is important because you might need the skins for garnishing. Imports to Asia are all year round from America, South Africa and Australia, but China and Taiwan are now harvesting a large portion of the market share now in Asia.
Hint: “squeezing your own juice is important for fresh tasting drinks, but don’t buy cheep oranges because you think it’s only for juice, it’s not worth it, there’s a reason there’re cheap so taste one first”
Nutrition: “High in Vitamin C plus Fiber with calcium and folate
Idea for Best Drink or use
As a juice mixer mixed with any white spirit or any rum and Bourbon is best and good with liqueurs, it’s a much liked juice and important to have on hand at a party. You can infuse or macerate the skin; make sure all the pith is removed first
Drinks with fresh Oranges Muddled
Claremont, Blue Sunday, Hawaiian Cocktail, Abbey Cocktail, Cobbler and Old Fashioned (1)
My Favourite Drink
The best way I like to enjoy the flavours of Oranges is when I Flame or twist an Orange skin on top of the drink it works wonders, my favourite being the Orange Flame on top of the Millionaires Martini or the Mr. G
Blood Orange (citrus sinensis)
This I think is not be available all over Asia and probably only selected stores and markets, now don’t get this confused with a grapefruit in looks and the taste as their not the same. It’s a member of the sweet orange family and is mostly cultivated in Europe and has a few names (pigmented Orange, Ruby blood, Maltese blood, Red orange) the skin is a little darker in colour than an orange and the sacs and inside look like its tainted with blood. The juice is not always as ruby red as you would think, it will generally just be a darker colour of orange and sometimes the skin is lighter and the juice is more a blood colour. I love this juice for mixing as the citrus flavours are so good in drinks and make a great alternative. Some do look like grapefruits and have most probably been sold and bought as grapefruits, though some are definitely a blood Orange from the darker colour of the juice.
This I think is not be available all over Asia and probably only selected stores and markets, now don’t get this confused with a grapefruit in looks and the taste as their not the same. It’s a member of the sweet orange family and is mostly cultivated in Europe and has a few names (pigmented Orange, Ruby blood, Maltese blood, Red orange) the skin is a little darker in colour than an orange and the sacs and inside look like its tainted with blood. The juice is not always as ruby red as you would think, it will generally just be a darker colour of orange and sometimes the skin is lighter and the juice is more a blood colour. I love this juice for mixing as the citrus flavours are so good in drinks and make a great alternative. Some do look like grapefruits and have most probably been sold and bought as grapefruits, though some are definitely a blood Orange from the darker colour of the juice.
Moro Blood Oranges are the most popular now in the world over and grown in the USA and Europe and it’s believed the Blood Orange is originated from Italy, Europe. I’m not very sure my self sometimes when I see a blood orange in the market if it could be a type of Orange it’s the inside that gives it away and the taste also is a give away. So you need the market lady to cut it open, Blood Oranges are mainly sweet with a hint of sourness and has a lower acidic level than oranges, but with all the different fruits now in the markets around the world I think some of them will overlap in taste, character and looks. Ok here’s a quick thing to remember if your in the market “if it’s red on the inside and looks like an orange on the outside it’s most definitely a blood orange”, that’s a basic rule I go by, but you can never be sure. The juice is definitely the give away when you squeeze it, a pink grapefruit juice is pinky red and will be definitely be a little sour, but a blood orange juice is not so pinky and sometimes orangey pink and sweeter and if you closed your eyes you could believe it’s orange juice. You see it’s the sacs that hold that red colour you see when you cut it open.
Hint: “this fruit will be hard to find in Asia and very expensive so check the western stores, if you find it then use it as you would orange juice”
Nutrition: “Good source of Vitamin C and dietary fibers”
Idea for Best Drink or use
Same as the Mandarin for drinks it tastes fantastic in a Fruit Daiquiri style or Sour style drink.
Drinks with fresh Blood Orange Juice
Bloody Bronx, Montego bay, Fresh Orange Juice Soda, Phoenix
My Favourite Drink
The best way I like to enjoy the flavours of a Blood orange is in a Bloody Bronx or a Screw driver (substitute the Fresh Orange Juice for Blood Orange juice)
Hint: “this fruit will be hard to find in Asia and very expensive so check the western stores, if you find it then use it as you would orange juice”
Nutrition: “Good source of Vitamin C and dietary fibers”
Idea for Best Drink or use
Same as the Mandarin for drinks it tastes fantastic in a Fruit Daiquiri style or Sour style drink.
Drinks with fresh Blood Orange Juice
Bloody Bronx, Montego bay, Fresh Orange Juice Soda, Phoenix
My Favourite Drink
The best way I like to enjoy the flavours of a Blood orange is in a Bloody Bronx or a Screw driver (substitute the Fresh Orange Juice for Blood Orange juice)
Grapefruit (citrus x paradisi)
The story of the grapefruit is too long for me to tell you about, but the main thing is no expert is sure if it is a native of some where in it’s own right or it’s a hybrid of the orange and pomelo, but it seems that it is originally from the Americas the ruby red grapefruit is a Hybrid from the Americas that’s for sure, but where ever the Grapefruit originally comes from I’m glad it’s here now as it’s a definite fruit for the mixed drinks on a bar or at home. Nearly all the citrus fruits of the world have a big place in the mixed drink world and are so easy to squeeze the juice from. The grapefruits in Asia vary from place to place and a lot of super markets will have some imports outside South east Asia as well. Main crops are in Thailand and China and now Vietnam is harvesting grapefruit. The imports to Asia are from America nearly all year and South Africa (my favourite) from April – October. In the bar or at home in Asia using the grapefruit can add that special taste to your cocktail.
Hint: “grapefruits come in many styles in Asia, find a regular supplier if you are using fresh juice regularly, use the Grapefruit with Red juice(Pink Grapefruit) it will have a pinker skin than an orange, the grapefruit with yellow juice(White Grapefruit) is very sour and even bitter, they can have a yellow skin or green skin”
Nutrition: “the Pink one is good for Vitamin C & A and great for carbohydrates to give you some energy, also the white one, but it generally has less Vitamin C and less vitamin A and lower Carbohydrates, but still good”
Idea for Best Drink or use
Grapefruit juice is great as a mixer with vodka or tequila or a small addition in a Papa Hemingway Daiquiri just shows its qualities. For this fruits quality I recommend to use in a drink before a meal or during a buffet or a BBQ, as the acidity is quite high so it’s a more refreshing drink
Drinks with fresh Grapefruit Muddled
There’s not any drinks I know that muddle a grapefruit slice, but try substituting a slice of grapefruit for another piece of fruit, here’s a few using fresh grapefruit juice sometimes as the main flavouring or just as a tiny portion for binding, if you like this fruit try Citrus Cream, Red Apple Sunset, Brides Mother, Absolute Holly, Cherrute, Green Widow, Grey Hound, Pompanski Martini, Salty Dog, Sea Breeze, Showbiz, Summertime, Sunblock, Sunstroke, Vodka Punch, Suntory Cocktail, Alcudia, Antibes, Arcadia, Arizona Cooler, Colonial Cocktail, Peyton Place, Pink Pussy cat, Pompano, Salt & Pepper Martini, Stainless Dry, Papa Hemingway, Florida Punch, Blinker, A.J., Bald Eagle Martini, Ice Breaker, Salty Chihuahua, Triple Sunrise, Vampiro, Tidal Wave
My Favourite Drink
The best way I like to enjoy the flavours of the Grapefruit is in a Papa Hemingway Daiquiri, it’s an amazing drink
Lemon (citrus Limon)
Lemons are a native of south East Asia originating in India and probably didn’t get to Europe until the middle ages with trade from the Arabs who probably took it to Greece and all over the Mediterranean. Then it went to the new world by the Spanish and Portuguese. Records show (I believe, but I’ve never seen these records only read about it second hand) it was all over the West Indies and South America by the end of the 16th century. Two most common lemons are the Lisbon and eureka, eureka lemons have a short stumpy neck at the stem end and some seeds and the Lisbon is seedless. Lemons are available year round and in most markets remember the quality and price will change from month to month and sometimes day to day depending on where the produce has come from. For your drinks the lemon is so essential either just to smooth over a recipe or to completely flavour a drink. It has the least amount of sugar to acid than any other fruit.
When choosing a lemon you must be very careful to make sure the fruit is shinny yellow and the skin has no shades of green or brown also the skin should be smooth and tight a pebbly skin is a sign of low juice contents. The skin is also used in some drinks; the oil from the skin is lovely in some straight spirit cocktails. You can take a piece of skin with the least amount of white pith as possible and twist it over the drink and drop it in or hold it to the drink and squeeze the oil out or even light it before you squeeze or light it as you squeeze it for show.
Lemons are imported from all over the world, northern hemisphere imports to Asia coming from America in December - April and southern hemisphere imports to Asia coming from South Africa and Argentina in April – October, but of course some are locally grown. They originated in Asia, but they are not harvested to huge numbers for exporting, so the lemons in Asia’s markets are probably not from a neighboring country. Lemons are cheep, but very important in drink making so when you buy it cut one open (pay for it of course) to see what its like.
Hint: “Lemons are abundant, but day to day the juice content changes once it’s been picked, never assume your fruit will taste good because it looks good”
Nutrition: “Vitamin C, A, B plus potassium and calcium”
Idea for Best Drink or use
Wow! probably 90% of drinks have lemon juice. My concoction of the Lemon Meringue has a lovely lemon punch. Once I come across a lovely drink called a Lemon Dream very nice.
Drinks with fresh Lemons Muddled
Blue Sunday, Caiprioska, Cobbler
My Favourite Drink
The best way I like to enjoy the flavours of Lemons in a drink is in a Whiskey Sour, they work well together with whiskey. Or a Chivas Regal on the rocks with a Lemon twist, old style, but still nice
Lime (citrus aurantiifolia)
Limes are native to south East Asia and first cultivated in China and India and taken to the Mediterranean around the same time as the Lemon and then on to the new world by the Portuguese and the Spaniards (maybe the records about the lemon will show the Lime was on those records as well). Limes vary around the world and the best limes available for drinks in Asia are in my opinion imported. The Mexican lime and the Florida (Key) lime are the best imported limes for drink mixing. Limes are available year round in Asia. The Australia and Thailand lime is the one to stay away from making drinks, and the Yuzu Lime which is more for cooking like the Thai lime which is small and is best also for cooking and the Australia lime is big and very bitter like the Kaffir Lime with its pebbly skin (which smells wonderful). The softness of the Mexican lime and Florida lime are the best for drinks, because the juice from these limes has a soft sourness.
The British navy used to issue lime juice to all the sailors to ward of scurvy which I think they should have used lemons or Oranges as limes have the lowest content of vitamin C in all Citrus fruits, but limes are small and would have probably stowed away a lot easier I suppose, plus they go great with rum, that’s where the nick name Limeys comes from. Limes that are imported are more expensive from the Americas, but make a lovely cocktail. Choosing a lime you must make sure it’s preferably from Mexico or Florida a seedless lime, and I think now limes are imported from Tahiti (not sure) they are ok too. First then make sure it’s skin is soft not hard, hard skin will mean less juice, and brown patches will mean an old lime so will be more bitter tasting. Choose a nice green colour with a soft skin, you can buy one then cut it open and squeeze a drop or two on to your tongue, and if it’s good and lip smacking then buy more and ask the store holder about the availability for the future. The imports to Asia are not all year round but the Taiwan Lime and Thai lime will be available all year, but still don’t use them, when the right lime isn’t available go for Lemons.
Hint: “the Bigger the lime doesn’t mean more juice, it should have clear green skin and when cut open a beautiful aroma, hold it up and gently squeeze 2-3 drops in your mouth, if it makes your tongue feel like a fur ball then its two bitter and no good, it must be sour, but retain a certain amount of sweetness, so you can smack your tongue on the roof of your mouth and say wayhee that’s nice”
Nutrition: “Vitamin A, C, B and potassium”
Idea for Best Drink or use
The Margarita eh, with fresh lime juice is heaven or the Dark and Stormy needs that small squeeze of fresh lime juice on top to make the drink a lip smacker. Always used in small amounts to make the drink special, good with Rum and Tequila in my opinion the best spirits, but is great with all spirits
Drinks with fresh Limes Muddled
Blue Sunday, Crimson Tide, Essence, Frangelico Caiprioska, Mexican Mojito, Pegu Club Cocktail, South Side, Cuba Libre, Blueberry Caipirinha, Caipiruva, Raspberry Caipirinha, Caipirinha and Mojito
My Favourite Drink
The best ways I like to enjoy the flavours of Limes is in a Margarita for sure, but try a Gin Rickey
Mandarins / Tangerines / Satsumas / Clementines (citrus reticulata)
I used to think they were not fully grown oranges when I was young as they didn’t fill there skin, and I wouldn’t believe any thing else then I got to know them as easy peelers. A native of China and made its way to Italy and the Mediterranean by the Arabs during the reign of the Romans (i have no idea, I wasn't there).
The Clementine is the smallest version and my favourite as it’s the sweetest and they’re normally free from seeds. Mandarins are the ones that you see canned, I have liked canned mandarins ever since a I was a kid and sometimes I will still use them on the bar for making mixe's. Satsuma’s from Japan are the larger version and are great for drinks as they have a tarter taste and normally have seeds, fantastic for juicing when in season, careful that the seeds don’t make it in to the drink.
During the summer in Asia the mandarins come from the Southern Hemisphere and great to juice and serve in your bar as an option instead of Orange Juice. It’s become my son’s favorite and when in season we will normally buy about ten pieces and it will make about ¾ litre. There are a few other variations like the Thailand Mandarin which is lime green colour, they are low in acidity with a light sweetness, nice to juice and mix with a fresh orange juice, but what ever you have in your market or supermarkets don’t forget to buy one and try it first, they are very seasonal and need to be tried.
China produces from October – March and exports around Asia and from May – September imports to Asia are from Australia and South Africa mainly. The quality of this fruit for some reason as a fresh fruit in Asian markets is constantly up and down, you need to be close to the harvest so they haven’t traveled far be careful to get the sweet ones they will feel soft when squeezed and the sour/tarter ones will have tighter skin, and don’t buy them if your aware they’ve been on the shelves more than 2 days. It’s not a good fruit to rely on in the bar on a regular basis, but at home or the bar you can have a special drink for a one off occasion. In Asian markets the Mandarin for some reason is not always a favourite and has taken second row to the Orange, but when you get a good batch arrive to the market it’s worth buying a lot and creating a special drink
Hint: “If you taste a good one in the market they are worth buying to use as juice for flavouring in a Fruit Daiquiri style or Sour style drink”
Nutrition: “High in Vitamin C with Fiber and potassium and Vitamin A”
Idea for Best Drink or use
Great to use as you would Orange juice, good with liqueurs and white spirits, and try as a you would like orange juice with Bourbon, great as plain juice and good in non alcoholic cocktails
Drinks with fresh Mandarins Muddled
None I know of, it’s a shame, but the delicate flavours of this fruit can be lost. The main problem in Asia is and this might sound funny, is the quality. Now don’t get me wrong because the best ones are in Asia and I’ve had some fantastic ones, but it’s the consistency because it’s a delicate fruit and it needs everything to be right for them to taste good, a few months of the year there’s a green skinned mandarin from Thailand available and its very good for juicing. This fruit is beautiful for drinks, but seasonal and temperamental, so great for the home for a special drink, but difficult to use in the bar on a regular basis, I wouldn’t put a mandarin cocktail on the regular menu.
My Favourite Drink
The best way I like to enjoy the flavours of a Mandarin is to find a good one in the market buy them and then juice them and make a Rum Style drink, the last one I rummaged together once because the market lady gave me one to munch on when we were chatting and it tasted so good I bought a load and juiced them to make a long drink 1 oz White Rum, ½ oz Mandarin Napoleon or Orange Curacao and 3 oz Fresh Mandarin Juice ( I added a bar spoon of Sugar syrup and a Bar spoon of fresh lime juice to taste)
Pomelo (citrus maxima)
The origin is believed to be Southeast Asia, same as all the other citrus family, the pith of the Pomelo is inedible unlike the other citrus fruits. It’s the largest of the citrus family and comes in a few species. The fruit juice is not often found in bars and many restaurants. In Asia this fruit is mainly used in desserts as the sacs of juice are big and can be removed very easily, it’s a great fruit that can be used as a garnish by sprinkling the sacs of juice on a drink or put them in to your punch, they would go great on top of a Pina Colada and change the Pineapple juice to Pomelo juice (just some ideas, call it a Pomelo Colada).
I find the Pomelo’s in Asia vary a lot from country to country depending on the variety and its one of the citrus family so normally the markets will have one cut for you to try before you buy. I rarely use this fruit, so if you experiment please contact me with your ideas.
Hint: “This one is always open in the stall for you to try first, it comes in a few styles so try it first the green ones are the ones I have used the most and the best ones in my opinion are from Thailand”
Nutrition: “High in Vitamin C and Potassium with carbohydrates”
Idea for Best Drink or use
I think this is great to take the sacks and have them sprinkled in a drink or on top of a ice cream drink like a Lemon Dream. It’s a delicate juice of the citrus family, goes good with coconut milk or white rum, plus for non alcoholic, try in a smoothie it would go good with banana or just use a glass of juice
Drinks with fresh Pomelo Muddled
If you find a good tasting one then make a Pomelo Love
My Favourite Drink
The best way I like to enjoy the flavours of Pomelo is in a Pomelo Love a fantastic after dinner drink that’s very gentle and refreshing
Some other members of the citrus family not used much
Bergamot Orange (citrus aurantium ssp bergamia)
This orange has the skins oils used in some perfumes and Earl grey tea, so you can imagine what this fruit is like; its very aromatic skin covers a strong acidic flavour great for drinks. It’s a native of Asia and a member of the sour orange family, and grown in Europe mainly France and Italy.
Calamondin (citrus mitis)
Native of China that has spread all over south east Asia and south Pacific and Americas, it’s a very juicy fruit looks like a mini Orange, a very acidic fruit that has a great softness for drinks, you can try it instead of Lemon or Lime, and mainly used in cooking.
Kaffir Lime (citrus hystrix)
Funny looking fruit looks like the trees got mold, native to Indonesia and is grown now in South East Asia, the leaves are used in cooking and the juice also, it’s very acidic and the skin is also used for the oils in cosmetics, not really recommended for drinks, but I use it in the South east Asian Caiprioska and a small piece as garnish on the Thai Thai Punch, the kaffir lime is very powerful and in a tiny amount adds a great twist on the drink
Kumquat
This is a very small orange look a-like and has a taste cross between an Orange and a mandarin, believed to be native to Japan and China. The tree is adorned everywhere during the Chinese lunar new year. You have to get this fruit at the right time if you want to use it in drinks, it may look ok, but wont taste ok, be very careful when buying because they might be limequats, lemonquats, citrangequat, mandarinquats or orangequats all look similar and the Calomondin is said to be from the Kumquat and Mandarin. Some bartenders do muddle this fruit in some drinks but it is difficult to get a good supply. They are actually not a true citrus fruit and you can actually eat the fruit whole.
Hope you like that info about citrus fruit for your drinks,
cheers
Keep Mixing
