Question On Orange In Savory Cooking

[ProfessorGAC]

I made scallops today, so I thought I'd make rice to go with it. I thought I'd go orange/saffron.
I used 50:50 water/veggie broth as the cooking liquid. I added a safron cinnamon stick, some garlic powder, white pepper & the juice, plus ¼top of orange zest.
Let the whole thing sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes before I turned on the heat.
Sort of half rice, half risotto.
Anyway, the orange taste was a shadow of what I was hoping for.
Anybody use orange in savory cooking? If so, how much orange is really needed?

[dweller]

1. Juice of 1 orange ?

1/4tsp of zest is light , at least a tsp may be needed


✌🏻

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Yes

That might explain it. I really had to hunt for any citrus notes, and ut wasn't very orangey. Just a shade of citrus.
Not at all what I was hoping for.
I may have been thinking lemon or lime too much.

[mike_c]

3. I make orange chicken occasionally

I use most of the zest from one orange, being careful to grate off only the outer layer, and a cup or so of orange juice. Cooking mostly for two. Don't add the zest until you're almost done, cooking it for too long causes the flavor to fade. Hope that helps!

[ProfessorGAC]

4. I Used Nowhere Near Enough Then

Like I said to another C&B poster, I was thinking lemon or lime, not orange.
1 cup of lime juice would be a ridiculous amount. Obviously not for orange. Clearly it's far more subtle.

[Retrograde]

5. I used orange juice in a mole negro recently

not too much, maybe a few tablespoons in a sauce made with a lot of dried chiles, onions, spices, and tomatillos. I think the citrus adds a bright flavor, and lightens the sauce.

Using fruits in meat dishes was common in medieval Europe and still is in parts of the Middle East - think apple sauce with pork, duck with orange sauce, or cranberries with turkey (OK, not exactly medieval but not too far off). I've made lamb with quinces and lamb with sour cherries from a Middle Eastern cookbook, and there are plenty more combinations to try. When my orange tree put out a bumper crop last year, I used oranges and orange juice in a lot of recipes that originally called for lemons or other citrus.

[elleng]

6. THANKS! You just encouraged me to slice and quarter an orange, and it's decent.

Having it with toast and butter, Brunch!

Having latkes with apple sauce Wednesday.