Blood Orange

Know this

The blush on the peel tells you nothing. The red inside comes from anthocyanins, the same pigment as a raspberry, and it only develops when the tree gets cold nights, so an orange with a plain skin can be crimson to the core and a blushed one can be pale. Buy heavy, firm fruit with tight skin and trust the knife. Moro is the deepest red and the sharpest, Tarocco is the Sicilian one, sweeter and seedless, and Sanguinello sits in between. Chef secret: zest it before you cut it, every time. The oil in the peel is where half the flavor lives, and the juice stains like beet, so work on a plate you do not love.

Cook

Supremed into a salad with shaved fennel and black olives, squeezed into a vinaigrette for duck or beets, or just peeled and eaten over the sink in January, which is what it is for. The juice makes the best negroni you will ever drink.

Season

December through March, mostly from California. The deepest color comes mid-season after a real cold snap.

Best pairings

Fennel · Olive · Red onion · Pistachio · Beet · Burrata

Also worth trying: duck, chile, mint, dark chocolate, Campari, shallot.

Recommended wine