Citrus fruits

In this article

Grapefruit Kumquats

Lemons Limes

Oranges Satsumas

Grapefruit were developed in the West Indies in the 18th century and got their name from the way they grow in clusters, like grapes, on the tree. There are three types of grapefruit depending on what colour their flesh is: white, pink and ruby. As with all citrus fruit, grapefruit are high in vitamins A and C. A traditional healthy breakfast, the grapefruit is one of those fruits you either love or hate. Its flesh has a bitter taste so sugar is often added when eaten raw. Grapefruit juice, with its distinctive taste, can help you wake up. Grapefruit is also good with fish and in salads where it adds a bitter-sweet dimension.

Although not strictly a member of the citrus family, the kumquat looks like a miniature orange. It has an intense acid taste and is used mostly for pickling and making preserves. Unlike other citrus fruit, the kumquat is often eaten whole as the skin is sweet and juicy. It's a native of China and is now widely cultivated. When choosing kumquats, look for firm, gently scented fruit, without any blemishes.

The lemon is the sharpest of all citrus fruit and gives a distinctive twang to many favourite dishes. Lemon juice is used widely in cooking due to its sharp flavour and low sugar content. It's used in both savoury and sweet dishes as well as in drinks. With its high vitamin C content, lemon is also very good for you: use it to boost your winter immune system and fight off colds. Lemon also has a refreshing summery flavour and often used in cooling summer salads, as well as being a classic accompaniment to fish dishes.

The lime is a small green fruit which is simply squeezed to add the fresh juice to any dish. It's often associated with Asian cooking: Thai dishes frequently use lime juice to give them that extra tang and tropical drinks and cocktails often require a dash. Lime is also added to fish dishes where its tang helps to bring out the flavour. The vitamin C in limes is famed thanks to British sailors who used to eat limes to prevent scurvy, earning them the nickname of 'limeys'. In fact, limes have one of the lowest vitamin C content of all the citrus fruit: oranges and lemons both have much more.

There are actually two distinct types of orange - sweet and bitter. The sweet orange is the one that we eat raw and use for juice. It has a sweet flavour and comes in different varieties such as blood and seedless. The main orange harvest runs from October to March, though they're available throughout the year. Sweet oranges can be used for cooking in a variety of ways, usually simply to add flavour to sweet or savoury dishes. Bitter oranges or Seville oranges are rather unpalatable to eat raw. The fruit is used mostly for making marmalade.

Mandarins and satsumas are all actually varieties of the tangerine, a small, sweet orange fruit. Typically, these fruit are smaller than the orange, with easily loosened skin. The clementine, a very similar fruit, is thought to be a hybrid between the tangerine and the sweet orange. All these fruit are winter-time treats and are often found at the bottom of Christmas stockings. Although they're traditionally eaten raw, they can be used in a variety of dishes.