Test Kitchen tips: Choosing and storing citrus

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When shopping for citrus, choose fruit that are heavy for their size -- they’ll be the juiciest. And look for fruit with nice, tight skins. Avoid fruit that are wrinkled or spotted, or feel lightweight. You can generally tell the ripeness of the fruit by the thickness of the rind -- the thinner the rind, the more ripe and juicy.

Most citrus will keep for several days at room temperature. They’ll also keep well in the refrigerator, stored in the crisper for up to several weeks. Thin-skinned citrus such as mandarins, or tangerines, should be refrigerated right away.

To get the most juice out of your citrus, bring the fruit to room temperature before juicing -- room temperature fruit will yield more juice than fruit just out of the refrigerator.

If you have any kitchen tips or questions you’d like me to explore, leave a comment below or shoot me an email at [email protected].

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-- Noelle Carter
twitter/noellecarter