An Ode to Citrus

As a kid I wasn't much for orange juice or lemonade or any of that type of stuff. I wanted kool aid and soda and Gatorade mostly. I drank, and still do, my fair share of water too. But, as I have gotten older, I'm here to say that  I was very wrong about the benefits and the taste of citrus fruits.

To give you all an example, I made some lemon loaf today with blueberries. I understand that blueberries are not citrus, but the amount of lemon I had to put in this bread was bountiful. And damned if it doesn't taste delicious. When going through the recipe this morning, I got to the lemon of it all. It called for the zest of four lemons, I only had three, and 3/4 of a cup of fresh lemon juice. So, I went with what I had and did what I could. The zest is so good and adds such a nice flavor to anything it is put into. In this bread, with the oils from the zest being released during the cooking process, it makes such a big difference. The bread stays more moist and the flavor runs throughout the bread. The addition of the fresh lemon juice gives the bread a nice punch that really goes a long way, especially paired with the sweetness of the blueberries. The icing for the bread also has fresh lemon juice in it, and this also brings a whole other level of flavor. Mixing fresh lemon juice with a pinch of salt and some powdered sugar makes it taste like the best lemonade you've ever had. It works so well with this bread and I find myself wanting more and more of it while eating a slice.

My love for citrus doesn't stop there. My mother in law makes the best sugar cookies ever, and I have to believe the thing that makes me love these cookies so much is the frosting, which features a heavy dose of lemon. I need to get her to try my bread and see how close I actually came to her icing. They taste similar. I have also become a big time fan of espresso tonic drinks. This is as simple as it sounds. You make a few shots of espresso, and while that is brewing you fill your cup with ice and add a tonic of your choosing. You can also add flavored tonic or flavored syrup to regular tonic. This is where the citrus comes into place for me. I love an orange forward espresso tonic. The tang the orange juice gives the tonic and espresso is second to none for me. I also like adding fresh lemon or lime juice to a diet tonic when making these. It really punches the drink up in a wonderful way. I really enjoy a Yuzu infused syrup to add to espresso tonic drinks. Yuzu packs more of a bang than other citrus syrups in my opinion. I also really enjoy what is known as a Sunrise, which is just orange juice, ice and espresso. When it all blends you get a great cup of iced coffee mixed with some fresh citrus. Don't knock it until you've tried it. I would even day that adding citrus of any kind to any soda makes it better. Sprite is delicious. My kids both love orange Fanta. I prefer Sunkist for my orange soda. The added kick citrus brings is one of my favorite flavors now by a mile. I wish I didn't just push it to the side when I was a kid.

Orange juice was always a thing for when you were sick. And I just preferred Gatorade to lemonade. But I was wrong. Orange juice and lemonade are so, so much better than Gatorade and better for you. And adding these things to food makes a real, and delicious difference. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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