Hardy Orange: A Good Citrus to Grow in Cold Cimates
Late fall brings the hardy orange, one of the most fragrant fruits of the season, to ripeness. When its small, velvety fruits drop to the ground from supremely thorny branches, the citrus connoisseurs pounce. Photography by Marie Viljoen. The skin of hardy oranges feels like velvet. Unlike other citrus trees, including yuzu, the unusual hardy orange is cold-tolerant. Blossoms appearing on bare branches, in Brooklyn’s USDA zone 7b, at Green-Wood Cemetery. Its leaves are distinctive, with three leaflets to each petiole. Ripe, seedy hardy oranges. For cooks and kitchen alchemists, there is another hardy orange oddity: a gummy residue coats knives and fingers, when you work with the fruit. Unripe hardy oranges in mid-November. Further north, the cold seems to keep it in check. Big thorns, pretty blossoms. “No sane person would attempt to penetrate this hedge!” writes Michael Dirr, in his nurseryperson’s bible, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. It is this bristling defense that makes the gathering of fallen fruit a necessity. Another advantage of gathering ripe, fallen fruit is that their flavor and juiciness seem to improve, with time. As seedy as yuzu, but 5 minutes’ work removes them easily. The sour fruits are important in Asian folk medicines and traditional Chinese medicine, where they are usually used dried and deployed as anti-inflammatories to treat digestive ulcers, gastritis, and dysentery. Hardy orange cheong is equal volumes fruit and sugar. Leave at room temperature for about 5 days, shaking daily. Hardy orange cheong is exceptionally fragrant, and makes distinctive drinks. The finished syrup can be used immediately, but I find it tastes better after a couple of months, and best after a year. November’s last roses with a hardy orange and carrot pickle, destined for a picnic. Carrot Pickle with Hardy Orange Hardy oranges are super-aromatic, but you could substitute yuzu or clementine zest if this pickle appeals.