OJ To The Hilt

A client, every holiday season, sends my folks a year-long subscription to Harry and David, who mails us fruit every month. 

Once they sent us Honeybells, which is a hybrid of tangerine and grapefruit. It tastes very much like oranges, but the consistency wasn't very pleasant, maybe because they were overripe.

Faced with eleven more, I decided not to be wasteful and searched for some recipes for its use. 

I squeezed out the juice—insane amounts of juice!—and the results was a brimming pitcher of bright sunshine. 

My first attempt was this sponge cake and meringue recipe, and it was an absolute flop and had to be thrown out. I would not advise you to try it.

When making orange curd for the meringue and mousse recipe.

Then went these orange meringues, and they came out spectacular. They were delicious, and since I used regular oil instead of butter they were pareve, and a relatively easy dessert for a Friday night (the meringue doesn't keep so well overnight). I want to try to see if I can make the meringues separately so I can spoon the curd into a pretty dessert glass and place the light-as-air meringue on top. 

Before the oven . . .

And after. I would advise taking them out earlier then the recipe recommends.

I also made this orange mousse recipe. Using online converters, I made it with cups instead of grams and it came out deliciously refreshing. I kept it in the freezer and took a spoonful from time to time as a pick me up. After a heavy meal I love something sorbet-like and citrusy; this would also be a great Shabbos dessert.

These recipes can be made with lemon juice instead, and I find I like lemon better than orange. It's tarter, with a refreshing zing. Of course the dimensions are different, but I have a functioning lemon mousse recipe from Couldn't Be Pareve! (I don't have a microwave, so I made the curd on the stovetop, and I whipped the whites in the regular mixer without doing it over boiling water, since all my eggs are pasteurized anyway) that can be used as a base. 

At least I know what to do with next year's Honeybells.