The appeal of a garland of dried orange slices is hard to deny - it's so picturesque, homey, and cheerful. No wonder it took over Christmas decorating and social media during the pandemic, when we were all practicing our pioneering with sourdough bread and crochet. (Keep reading for citrus recipes, you domestic mavens!)
Laura Ingalls Wilder apparently referenced her delight in receiving an orange at least twice in her autobiographies of pioneer life. And sailors have long known citrus would fend off scurvy during a lengthy sea voyage.
So how did the orange evolve from a rare treat and a cure for the vitamin-deprived, to a fruit so cheap, accessible, and commoditized, we are using them as decorations?!
Let's start in the 3rd century, when St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, saved three impoverished young women from slavery by giving them each a bag of gold to use as a dowry - scholars say this 'miracle of the dowries' inspired the symbolic tradition of giving oranges to children at Christmas.
By the 19th century, the industrious Victorians had thoroughly converted Christmas into a gift-centric celebration. And while the expansion of the railroads helped distribute tropical produce throughout Europe and across the US, oranges were still rare and expensive, available only during the winter.
Until the turn of the 20th century, when the California Fruit Growers Exchange began a massive sales campaign for its Sunkist label, oranges were a special treat imported from Spain or Italy. During the Depression, an orange for Christmas was still an affordable luxury for this special time of year. By then, orange groves were well established in sunny California and Florida.
With the globalization of trade and cheap oil for shipping, we can now get any kind of citrus fruit, any time of year.
So maybe making our own dried orange garlands is a way for us to tap into a more humble past when such a rare treat was worth preserving and using every last piece. When simple joys were so much more meaningful.
This year, try some of these recipes to preserve cheerful, seasonal citrus.
If you have 24 hours: More than just a garnish on an adult beverage, candied citrus peels and slices are not only pretty, they're a delicious flavor accent for desserts. Try these recipes to preserve citrus with sugar.
Got 2 or 3 days to wait? If you experimented with kombucha or other homebrewing during the pandemic, you have to try this easy citrus mead from Scandinavia: sima. It's traditionally made with lemon, for a barely-alcoholic fizzy drink. (I've made it with grapefruit and blood orange as well, using dry baking yeast.) Try the method from Scandinavian food blogger Cecilia, or this one, with imperial measurements.
Start this 3 weeks ahead: If you like Indian or Moroccan cuisine, I highly recommend this easy lemon pickle for preserving with salt (and I've used the same method with grapefruit too). It's also a great condiment for seafood.
Which one will you try? Let us know on Instagram!
Our faux fruit wreath harks back to a Victorian Christmas, so you can keep the fresh fruit for one of the recipes above, or for Christmas breakfast.
I gleaned my orange lore from this super-interesting Smithsonian article. I had so much fun researching and writing this post!
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