A couple of weeks of broad hints finally worked, and sweet Carol invited me over to pick some of her legendary bitter oranges this afternoon. Well, legendary among recipients of my marmalades, anyhow. Had a wonderful time in her garden chatting and raiding the tree, and ended up with ten pounds of the little lovelies plus a handful of Meyer lemons from the next tree to the left.
So the winter of 2012 will come to a conclusion with a couple of batches of Carol’s Little Bitter Orange Marmalade.
Oh, but wait. Enter, stage left, the brilliant Liz Crane, manager of the Noe Valley Farmers’ Market.
See, it seems that Liz did her homework and determined that what i’ve been calling for several years “little bitter oranges” just because they were little, bitter, and orange colored were not, in fact, oranges at all but rather Rangpur limes. And i was mistaking “exceedingly sour” for bitter although since i’ve been using the whole fruit, the pulp would be adding a bitter note.
So thanks to Liz, this year’s product will be renamed CRLM. Carol’s Rangpur Lime Marmalam. And yes, i’m now calling it a “marmalam” because it’s as close to a jam as it is a true marmalade.
I’m thinking that, now that she’s supplied me, Carol could supplement her social security by hawking the fruit from her doorstep. They’re fetching $9/lb in New York.
Meanwhile, another horticultural breakthrough is the appearance of the first blossom on our 21st Street A. attenuata.