Fruit (View Vegetables)

Blood Orange

Also known as

• Pigmented orange

Blood oranges have crimson, blood-coloured flesh. The fruit is smaller than an average orange; its skin is usually pitted, but can be smooth. Sometimes there is dark coloring on the exterior of the rind as well, depending on the variety. Blood oranges yield a tasty juice, which can be used as a cocktail ingredient. They can also be used to create marmalade and gelato.

Substitutes

• Orange (flesh orange, not red, more acidic)
• Tangerines (sweeter)

Grapefruit

Grapefruit comes in many varieties, determinable by color, which is caused by the pigmentation of the fruit in respect of both its state of ripeness and genetic bent. The most popular varieties cultivated today are red, white, and pink hues, referring to the inside, pulp colour of the fruit. The family of flavors range from highly acidic and somewhat bitter to sweet and tart. The colour of the flesh does not affect the flavour.

Substitutes

• Ugli Fruit (more flavorful, but don't cook it)
• Pomelo (less acidic and less bitter)
• Tangelo (grapefruit crossed with tangerine)

Kaffir Lime

Also known as

• Leech Lime
• Makrut
• Magrood

The kaffir lime is a rough, bumpy green fruit that grows on very thorny bush with aromatic leaves. The hourglass-shaped leaves are widely used in Thai, Lao, Cambodian and Indonesian cuisine. The leaves can be used fresh or dried, and can be stored frozen. The fruit itself produces little juice; usually only the zest is used.

Substitutes

• Lime
• Citron

Kumquat

Kumquat fruit resembles a miniature oval orange. Depending on variety, peel color ranges from yellow to red. Culinary uses include candying and kumquat preserves, marmalade, and jelly. They may be used as a martini garnish, replacing the classic olive. They can also be sliced and added to salads, or eaten raw. The rind is sweet and the juicy centre is sour.

Substitutes

• Bitter oranges

Lemon

Lemons are used primarily for their juice, though the pulp and zest are also used, primarily in cooking and baking. Lemon juice is about 5% acid, which gives lemons a tart taste. The average lemon contains approximately 3 tablespoons of juice. Allowing lemons to come to room temperature before squeezing makes the juice easier to extract. Using lemon juice in marinades wil tenderise meat. It also acts as a short-term preservative when sprinkled on certain foods that tend to oxidize and turn brown after being sliced.

Substitutes

• Grapefruit
• Lime
• Lemongrass (in soups and marinades)

Lime

Limes are often used to accent the flavours of foods and beverages. In cooking, lime is valued both for the acidity of its juice and the floral aroma of its zest. Lime juice is used in softdrinks, cocktails, and pickling, while a thin slice of the fruit is often used as a garnish.

Substitutes

• Lemon (lemons have a weaker flavor and are less acidic, so use more)

Mandarin Orange

Also known as

• Mandarin

Mandarin oranges are usually eaten plain, or in fruit salads. The mandarin is easily peeled with the fingers, starting at the thin rind covering the depression at the top of the fruit, and can be easily split into even segments without spilling juice. This makes it convenient to eat. Specifically reddish-orange mandarins can be marketed as tangerines. Another popular variety is the temple orange, a cross between the mandarin and the common orange.

Substitutes

• Orange

Meyer Lemon

The Meyer lemon is thought to be a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin. The fruit is yellow and rounder than a true lemon with a slight orange tint when ripe. It has a sweeter, less acidic flavor than the more common lemon (Lisbon or Eureka are typical grocery store varieties) and a fragrant edible skin.

Substitutes

• Lemon

Orange

Also known as

• Sweet Orange

Oranges are widely grown in warm climates worldwide. The fruit is commonly peeled and eaten fresh, or squeezed for its juice. Orange zest is often used in baking. Other culinary uses for oranges include cakes, marmalades, preserves, salads and poultry.

Substitutes

• Blood Orange (less acidic, red flesh)
• Mandarin Orange
• Kumquats
• Ugli fruit
• Grapefruit
• Pomelo (especially for marmalade)

Pomelo

Also known as

• Chinese Grapefruit
• Pummelo
• Shaddock

The pomelo is usually a pale green to yellow when ripe, larger than a grapefruit, with sweet flesh and thick spongy rind. The pulp colour ranges between clear pale yellow to pink to red, and tastes like a sweet, mild grapefruit. It is the largest citrus fruit, growing as large as 30 cm in diameter and weighing as much as 10 kg; the peel is thick, and is sometimes used to make marmalade.

Substitutes

• Grapefruit (more acidic and more bitter)

Tangelo

The tangelo is a citrus fruit that is a hybrid of any mandarin orange (popularly known as a tangerine) and either a pomelo or a grapefruit. The fruits look like a good-sized orange and has a tangerine taste, but is very juicy, to the point of not providing much flesh but producing excellent and plentiful juice.

Substitutes

• Mandarin Orange
• Grapefruit
• Orange

Ugli Fruit

Ugli fruit is a variety of tangelo from Jamaica, created by hybridizing a grapefruit and a tangerine. It got its name from the unsightly appearance of its rough, wrinkled, greenish-yellow skin, wrapped loosely around the orange pulpy citrus inside. An ugli fruit is slightly smaller than a grapefruit and has fewer seeds. It tends towards the sweet side of the tangerine rather than the bitter side of its grapefruit lineage, with a fragrant skin.

Substitutes

• Grapefruit (not as sweet)
• Orange (smaller)