The Pantry / Bitter Orange
Bitter Orange
Citrus × aurantium · narenj · naranj · Seville orange · sour orange
Grown for its peel and its blossom, not for eating.
What it is
The bitter orange looks like an ordinary orange and tastes nothing like one. The flesh is sour and full of pips. The value is in the peel, which is thick, intensely fragrant and bitter enough to need taming, and in the blossom, one of the most perfumed of any citrus.
Where it comes from
It began in Southeast Asia, travelled west through Persia and on to the Mediterranean, where Seville made its name. In Afghanistan it grows in the warm lowlands around Jalalabad, whose orange groves are celebrated each spring when the trees flower.
What it's called
Narenj (Dari and Persian) · naranj (Pashto) · Seville orange, sour orange (English). The English word orange descends from the same Persian name, by way of Arabic.
In the kitchen
For narenj palau the peel is pared, stripped of every trace of pith, cut into fine shreds and boiled three times to draw out the bitterness, the last time with sugar and saffron, before it goes over the rice with pistachios and almonds. In mastawa, the winter rice, the shreds are only soaked, so they keep a sharp, bitter edge against the lamb and yoghurt. Leave any pith on and the whole dish turns bitter.
What we know about the claims
The peel is rich in aromatic oils. Bitter orange extract, sold as a weight-loss supplement for its synephrine, is a different matter: concentrated, carrying cardiovascular warnings, and nothing to do with candied peel on rice.
Choosing and buying
Seville oranges are in British shops for a few weeks in January and February, for marmalade; buy extra, pare the peel and freeze it. Out of season, Iranian grocers sell dried bitter orange peel, which needs soaking before the first boil. In the US, look for sour oranges in Latin American markets, or the dried peel at Persian grocers. Ordinary orange peel works for narenj palau, without the bitter edge.