How to Supreme an Orange

Supreming is a technique of removing the white membrane, or pith, from a citrus fruit and fileting it (cutting it into wedges). You can supreme any citrus fruit and serve in salads or desserts.


The technique is not very difficult to master. All you need is a cutting board and a very sharp paring or filleting knife. If you have never done this before, take your time and work carefully. You do not want to end up injured.


Wash a dry the orange. Cut off about 1/2 inch on both ends of the fruit.


Set the orange on end on a cutting board and start cutting off the peel sliding your knife from top to the bottom of the fruit. Make sure that you are cutting away the white pith.


Work your way around the fruit and remove any pith you might have left but make sure that you are not trimming too much.


To make orange supremes, or filets, insert the blade of your knife into each segment of an orange as close to the dividing membrane as possible. Make a cut on both sides of the segment. The wedge should come out easily. If this is not the case, repeat the cut and moving the blade a bit deeper into the center of the fruit but be careful not to cut all the way through. 


Work around the fruit and repeat this action in each segment. At the end, when all the filets are removed, only the membrane remains.


Citrus supremes are very decorative, but there is a lot of "waste." The pith of an orange is rich in vitamin C, minerals, and valuable bioflavonoids that go to waste with this method if you decide to discard the "remains" of the oranges you just supremed. But you do not have to waste anything at all. Simply throw the still juicy membrane into your juicer and juice it together with other fruits or vegetables.

You can also make a good use of the orange peel. You can dry it and turn it into a fragrant potpourri. You can also dry and grind the peel and use it to season raw and cooked dishes. Make sure that you are using organic oranges and remember to wash them well in warm water before processing. You can also marinate the peel in vinegar and use the concoction to make delicate salad dressings and other condiments.

There are many more ways to use the peel and I am certain that you will come up with your own original ideas.

In radiant health, passionately raw - Dominique

Dominique Allmon©2014