Supreming citrus is an easy way to get beautiful segments of fruit for salads, fruit trays, and any other recipes you can think of! Using this technique allows you to get the best part of the fruit, leaving behind the tougher membrane, or wall, that separates each segment.
I learned this technique years ago when I was a prep cook and had to prepare large trays of fruit for parties. Granted, the need to supreme citrus doesn’t come up a whole lot in day to day cooking, but for recipes like my Orange and Salmon Salad, it works perfectly! And it’s fun to do.
In addition to getting the orange segments, one little orange can also lead to three delicious recipes if you play your cards right. First, you can use your peeler to get some beautiful orange zest for Orange Simple Syrup (which can by used in three different watermelon recipes!). Next, use the supreming technique in this post for pretty orange segments in a salad. Finally, take the leftover part of your orange after supreming, give it a good squeeze, and you have enough orange juice to make delicious Orange Sherry Vinaigrette!
Zest your orange first if you are going to make orange simple syrup:
Next take a sharp knife and cut the top and bottom off of the orange. Place the orange on one of it’s cut sides for stability, and run your knife from top to bottom to remove all of the peel and the white pith.
Holding the peeled orange in one hand, take your sharp paring knife and cut out each orange segment between the membranes, which you will easily be able to see.
Keep going until you have all the orange segments out. Now, if you are going to make a vinaigrette, take the leftover part of the orange and squeeze it over a bowl. You will get 2-3 tablespoons of delicious juice. And now you know how to supreme citrus!
