In season during the winter, when other fruits are scarce, refreshingly juicy oranges and grapefruits offer plenty of health-boosting benefits. Both sweet and tart fruits add variety and complexity to a range of dishes and help the body defend against everything from the common cold to heart disease and cancer.
Ingredients
Preparation
HEALTH BENEFITS
Step 1
Just one whole orange or grapefruit covers your daily requirement of vitamin C and includes a range of phytonutrients, specifically carotenoid pigments. Blood oranges benefit from anthocyanin, which may help prevent stroke and urinary tract infections, fight inflammation, and reduce the risk of cancer. The lycopene in Cara Cara oranges and red and pink grapefruits is associated with a reduced risk of some cancers and heart disease, and may increase the skin’s resistance to sun damage. (Pink and red grapefruits also offer about 35 times more vitamin A than their yellow counterparts.) Oranges and grapefruits provide a robust amount of folate and potassium. When peeling citrus fruits, leave on the white, stringy parts that stick to the fruit; they harbor pectin, a soluble fiber that helps lower cholesterol. Eat a grapefruit just as you would an orange; peel the skin and eat the segments whole to get 50 percent more fiber. And don’t toss the peel if it’s organic: The zest, used in recipes, offers limonoids, a bitter-tasting lipid that protects citrus fruits from fungi and may lower cholesterol and fight cancers of the skin, breast, lung, stomach, colon, and mouth.
HOW TO BUY
Step 2
Citrus fruits peak in winter but are available year-round. Choose firm and unblemished fruit that feels heavy for its size. Buy organic when you can, especially if you plan to use the zest. Even with the peel removed, oranges are among the top 25 types of produce most likely to contain pesticide residues.
HOW TO STORE
Step 3
Citrus fruits keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.
PREPARATION TIP
Step 4
Since vitamin C helps the body absorb iron from plants, scatter orange or grapefruit segments over spinach salad to get the most out of your greens. Add some nuts or cheese, too; the lycopene in blood oranges and pink or red grapefruit is best absorbed when combined with some fat.
recipes
Step 5
Oranges with Olives and Parsley p.174
Step 6
Endive, Avocado, and Red Grapefruit Salad p.182
Step 7
Parsley-Leaf Salad with Pine Nuts, Olives, and Orange Dressing p.201
Step 8
Citrus-Roasted Salmon with Spring Pea Sauce p.212
Step 9
Sablefish en Papillote with Shiitake Mushrooms and Orange p.219
Step 10
Orange-Walnut Olive Oil Cake with Sweet Yogurt p.319
Step 11
Sliced Oranges with Candied Hazelnuts p.324
