Celebrating citrus

6th June 2008, 11:57am

A recent lunch showcasing the many varieties and uses of Jaffa citrus fruit was held at Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons, where executive head chef Gary Jones prepared four tasty and tangy courses.

The Jaffa Heritage Lunch, hosted by MTEX, the Israel based global supplier of Jaffa branded fruit, and MMUK, which supplies Tesco with citrus fruit, highlighted the versatility of the full range of Jaffa products. The menu made use of red grapefruit, clementine, orange, and lemon, adding their own citrus notes to each dish.

In the first course - a salad of steamed Cornish crab and Brazilian mango - the slight bitterness of sunrise grapefruit was used to cut through the sweetness of the crab, while the second course of tuna tartare was accompanied by a clementine jelly. "When we tasted the clementines they were so pure and fresh that we needed only to add a bit of agar to set the juice, so the pure taste of the fruit would come through," explains Jones.

The main course of roast Gressingham duck included a small segment of orange alongside the dish: "Duck can be quite fatty, so the acidity of the orange was used to break it down slightly."

A classic lemon tart was served for dessert, made using caramelised South African Jaffa lemons, accompanied by a lemon sorbet.

Jaffa has been selecting, breeding and growing citrus varieties for the UK market for more than half a century and the branded fruit is now available year round. According to MTEX clementine and satsuma development is a real growth area of the business, as well as development in oranges, from working to extend the seasons to creating seedless and easy peeler varieties.

Jaffa heritage menu:

Salad of Cornish crab, Brazilian mango, Israeli red Jaffa sunrise grapefruit

Tartare of tuna, pickled mouli and ginger, clementine jelly

Roast Gressingham duck breast, garden turnips and mustard greens, foie gras sauce

Caramelised South African Jaffa lemon tart with its own sorbet

Citrus Calendar:

Oranges

• The Navel is the first Jaffa orange of the year. It is available from November to the middle of January
• The Shamouti is the original Jaffa orange. It is oval, and medium to large sized, and has a thick skin, which peels easily off the fruit. It has almost no seeds at all. It is available from January until April
• The Valencia Late is available from May until the end of June

Grapefruit

•      Sunrise is a red grapefruit with a delicate red peel, red pulp and high juice content. It is available from beginning of October to May/June

• Marsh is a white, seedless variety of grapefruit, with pale yellow flesh and a high content of sugar and juice. It is available from the beginning of October to May/June

Easy Peelers

• The Suntina has a deep orange skin and is characterised by strong flavour and juiciness. It is the first Jaffa easy peeler of the year and is available from December until February
• The Minneola is available from mid-December and continues until mid February
• The Or is a sweet easy peeler - a leading variety in terms of taste - which has been growing in popularity since it was launched in 2001. It is available from February until April
• The Mor is an exceptionally sweet variety of easy peeler; this and the Or are among the only easy peeling varieties on the shelves at this time of year. It was launched into the UK in 2004 and is available from March until May
• ClemenGold is a delicious and sweet addition to the Jaffa brand – since 2007. It is available in August and September
• Jaffa satsumas are available from September to December