Or – What to do With all the Free Oranges

In this part of the world Nov to March brings oranges.  They are everywhere.  People open up their basements just to sell them because there are so many.  Truckers screech to a halt in front of you to purchase a net of oranges from the road side stalls that are only open this time of year.  And best of all, people give them away.  Offers such as ‘help yourself to as many as you like’, and ‘have you been to the orange grove yet?  please do and pick lots’, ‘have some lemons too’, are everywhere.

We have bravely planted citrus trees in a sheltered spot but have yet to see any mandarin or orange action yet.  We do though, know a couple with the most fabulous navel orange tree.  It is spectacular, covered in perfect juicy fruit.  At the end of December we had some pretty insane wind and the tree lost a lot of its fruit.  That’s where we come in – the couple gave us a crate of oranges.  We’ve juiced many as the juice really is heavenly – tart but sweet enough to cope with even early in the morning!

However a crate of oranges is too many so each year I investigate new ways of preserving them and have come up trumps with a variation on Lime Pickle.  You’ve guessed it I’ve made Orange Pickle inspired by the Punjab!

I’ve just made another batch which prompted me to pass the recipe on to you.   If you are also lucky enough in California, Valencia or wherever, to have too many oranges to deal with at the moment give this a whirl!

Making ‘Punjambesque’ Orange Pickle.

For every kilo of oranges you will need:

• 100g salt
• 1 tsp cardamom pods
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 500g sugar
• 1tbsp chilli powder
• a few fresh or dry red chiilis

Firstly soak the oranges in a bowl of water for 12 hours.  Then drain, dry and top & tail the oranges.  Now slice them into 1/2 cm rounds.  Put the slices and the salt into a glass bowl and mix well.  The next day grind the whole spaces and put in a pan with the liquid produced and the sugar.  Bring this to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and boil for one minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chilli powder and leave to cool.  When the mixture is cool stir in the oranges and pack into sterilised jars adding a chilli or two to the jars as you go.  Poke the mixture with a spoon to get rid of any air pockets, seal and leave somewhere warm like a sunny windowsill for four or five days.  After four weeks in storage – somewhere dark, your orange pickle will be ready.

Use this as you would lime pickle, as a spicy condiment or spread onto fish or spare ribs before baking.

Yum, and it means you don’t have to keep drinking gallons of orange juice!

Give it a go if you’re also inundated with offers of free oranges, or just feel like preserving something from the shops.  As its all orangey it will make a great home-made gift idea for 2009 and as it will keep for up to 2 years unopened maybe 2010 too!

Updated 7th March 2009 – Make sure you don’t over-cook the mixture when you’re dissolving the sugar.  I have one batch which is bordering on the inedible as it does taste vaguely of burnt toffee!  Oh well, things don’t always turn out as planned!

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