Celebration of Citrus: 3 ways

I love citrus. I love the floral aroma of the Meyer lemon, I love the sweetness of the navel Orange, I love the hues of the Cara Cara and the Moro (blood) orange, and I’ll take the vitamins too thank you very much. Today, in celebration of my favorite fruits, I’m sharing some new work we created for the California citrus coopertive, Sunkist Growers. First up, a fun and easy way to create popsicles:

I love the idea of keeping some citrus slices on the stick. It’s a pretty way to serve this sweet and tangy treats for a summer get-together.

Citrus Slice Popsicles
1 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (we used a mix of blood, cara cara, and navel oranges)
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1/4 cup vanilla simple syrup
8 slices (or halves) of citrus
8 paper cups or popsicle molds
8 sticks

For the vanilla simple syrup:
Combine 1 cup boiling water with 1 cup cane sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add 1 tsp pure vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature.

For the popsicles:
Combine juices and simple syrup in a pitcher or large measuring cup with a spout.
Pour mixture into popsicle mold or paper cups. Place in freezer for 1 hour or so, until partially frozen.
Add citrus slice or half that matches the size of the popsicle most closely. Run stick through the citrus, into the popsicle, making sure it doesn’t go all the way to the bottom of the cup.
Freeze 1-2 more hours, or until solid.
If using paper cups, peel cup away to serve.

Next up, a salad that combines sweet and savory flavors. It’s light and super refreshing.

Grapefruit and Greens Salad
2 grapefruits
4 cups arugula
Mint leaves (to garnish)
Juice of 1 meyer lemon
Meyer lemon salt, and pepper, to taste.
Trim rind and pith off grapefruits with a paring knife. Separate segments by hand, then slice segments in half.
Toss arugula in lemon juice, top with grapefruit segments, finish with salt and pepper and garnish with mint leaves.
Next up, we’ve got citrus salts and citrus sugars. Perfect for cocktails, salad dressings, (the sugar is delicious in tea)!

Blood Orange Sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp blood orange zest (1-2 oranges)
Mix zest into sugar until thoroughly combined. Spread mixture out on a baking sheet and leave at room temperature until dry (about 1 hour).
Try different flavors by changing the type of citrus zest used. Sugar can be used to rim drinks or top grapefruit (like we did), sprinkled over cookies or cake, stirred into tea, and more.

Meyer Lemon Salt
3/4 c fine sea salt
2 Tbsp meyer lemon zest (1-2 lemons)
Mix zest into salt until thoroughly combined. Spread mixture out on a baking sheet and leave at room temperature until dry (about 1 hour).
Try different flavors by changing the type of citrus zest used. Salt can be used anywhere you would usually use it. We finished our grapefruit salad with it, but would also be amazing on a margarita.

Quite the citrus celebration, huh? Stay tuned for part 2 of this post with citrus styling ideas!

*Photography and recipe development by Danae Horst. Creative Direction and styling by J. Blakeney
*This post was created in partnership with Sunkist Growers. All ideas and opinions are my own.