"Citrus" news and stories

Clementines are a wintertime treat, usually arriving at the store in charming wooden crates or net bags.

The very essence of citrus is captured in its peel. There's something so elegant about its simplicity, about the volume of flavor hidden a part of the fruit that's typically discarded.

Once you carefully remove the bitter white pith, you're left with pure rind, and the culinary options unfold: julienne it for marmalade or candied zest, finely grate it for salads or pastas, or cut wide swaths of it to infuse cocktails or stews.

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The bowl of clementines on my kitchen table teased me for days, even as I peeled the rind off each until only a few remained. What wine would I pair with these? I wanted a wine to accentuate clementines' sweet, rounded citrus notes. But I didn't want that exact taste, just one that would complement it. Finally, it came to me: Roussanne, a white-wine grape tracing back to France's Rhône region, with its notes of honeyed tropical fruits. California varieties are just as good (I recommend 2007 Rosenblum Cellars Fess Parker Roussanne, Santa Barbara County, $25).



During the summer it's not uncommon to sip wine with sliced fruit. Why should we give that up after the first snowfall? Winter fruits are bold, tart and often of the citrus family. Pairing possibilities are endless, and the fruits bring a burst of color to the table.

Here are some great wine picks for winter fruits.

• In a city where it seems most everyone drives everywhere, two sisters lead a taste tour, on foot.
• But a trip on the light rail can be just as delicious.
• Now that Gourmet is gone -- and with it, Ruth Reichl -- Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Barbara Fairchild steps into the spotlight at Condé Nast.
• A round-up of gravy and stuffing recipes from the Los Angeles Times' test kitchen.
• Drinking juice at breakfast? You might as well be chugging soda.
• Raising your child on a vegetarian diet? If so, meat may become the forbidden fruit.
• Even though the picks may not be perfect, it's lime season in California.
• Dining guide "EAT: Los Angeles 2010" hits bookstore shelves Dec. 1.

After spending more than two decades in development, a mandarin hybrid that some fruit experts are calling "the best thing they've ever eaten in the world of citrus" is now on the market, albeit in limited quantities.

"Oh man, it's dynamite," University of Florida plant breeder Fred Gmitter says of the Sugar Belle. "Spoken like a father, huh?"

When Gmitter joined the Florida faculty in 1985, he discovered his predecessor's experimental citrus groves had been destroyed. Only a block's worth of trees remained, and most of those were "ugly to look at and horrible to eat." But among the duds, he found a tree growing superb orange fruit. He and his colleagues used that tree to create the university's first-ever cultivar.

Since citrus breeding is slow going, the introduction of new varieties is relatively rare. But Peter Chaires, executive director of the company that holds licensing rights to the Sugar Belle, says the fruit could mark the start of a citrus golden age.

"This is the first one out of a long pipeline," Chaires says. "We have some interesting things coming, including an easy-peel mandarin. We'll see varieties for fresh consumption, varieties for the juice market and a lemon-lime hybrid."