VeganYumYum

Making Pretty Orange Segments, aka Supreming

January 16th, 2007 Stumble it!

I’ve always marveled at the perfect orange segments that sit atop food at fancy restaurants. They are wonderfully juicy and don’t have a hint of rind, pith, or skin on them. The technique that produces these pretty slices is easy, provided you have a sharp knife and a few extra minutes.

Step One
Slice the ends off your orange, so you can see a little bit of the fruit below. Peel off the rind, exposing the stringy white pith. Working carefully with a very sharp knife, slice off the pith, being careful not to remove too much of the orange meat as you go. Your orange should now look like this:

Step Two
You should see the divisions between each segment as little white lines. Use the length of your knife (not the point) to slice in towards the center of the orange, as close to the membrane as possible. Stop when you reach the end of the segment - you should feel resistance when you get there. Repeat the process for the other side of the segment. You might need to turn the knife towards the middle of the segment to release it from the orange. You should now have a perfect wedge.

Step Three
Repeat for all the segments, working your way around the orange, folding the empty membranes back under your had as you go.

You should just have the orange membranes left over. Be sure to squeeze this for the juice before you toss it.

Perfect orange segments. That wasn’t that hard, was it?

Entry Filed under: how to, technique