Orange Country

We Southern Californians have always been looking for ways to use our locally grown oranges. Starting in the 1850s, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange counties planted seedlings that soon rivaled European varieties. And in May 1898 (when the price of a dozen oranges ranged from 10 cents all the way up to 30 cents), recipes for “new ways of serving a delicate fruit” appeared in the Women’s Pages of the Los Angeles Sunday Times Illustrated Magazine Section. Two of them--orange-macaroon pudding and orange souffle--certainly haven’t lost their enchanting quality.

The pudding is browned on the outside and soft and moist inside. The macaroons add nice flavor and texture. Although the original recipe called for a “sauce flavored with orange syrup” to be served alongside, it isn’t necessary. The “souffle,” which is really more like an ice cream, uses packaged gelatin, a brand new convenience food at the time.

ORANGE-MACAROON PUDDING

1/4 pound macaroons, about 8

1 cup milk

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch salt

Juice and zest of 1 orange

Break up macaroons. Crush enough to make 1 tablespoon and set aside. Soak remainder in milk 15 minutes.

Beat eggs, sugar and salt in separate bowl until smooth. Add macaroons and milk and beat well. Stir in orange juice and zest.

Pour into buttered 1-quart mold or bowl and cover tightly with foil. Place covered mold in steamer and cover steamer. Steam over simmering water 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.

Remove from steamer and let cool 5 to 10 minutes. Turn out of mold and sprinkle with reserved macaroon crumbs. Serve warm.

6 servings. Each serving:

225 calories; 108 mg sodium; 165 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.40 gram fiber.

ORANGE SOUFFLE

This is not the baked souffle you might expect but a frozen gelatin dessert. Note that the yolks cook when hot syrup is stirred into the gelatin mixture. It is vital that the syrup be hot when added to the yolks so that the yolks cook enough to kill the pathogens that can cause food-borne illnesses. To make the eggs even safer, see Cook’s Tips.

1 (1/4-ounce) package unflavored gelatin

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup boiling water

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Soak gelatin in 1/2 cup orange juice 5 minutes. Stir in boiling water to dissolve gelatin.

Mix remaining 1/2 cup juice with sugar in heavy pot and cook over high heat until thin syrup forms, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir beaten yolks into gelatin mixture. Stir in hot syrup and continue stirring until outside of bowl begins to cool.

Refrigerate. When mixture begins to set, gently fold in whipped cream and refrigerate until firm.

8 servings. Each serving:

238 calories; 15 mg sodium; 143 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.03 gram fiber.

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Cook’s Tips

When raw eggs are called for in a recipe, there are a couple of methods a cook can use to make the eggs safer. Here are two methods The Times Test Kitchen uses to heat egg yolks before using them in recipes that traditionally use raw yolks.

Stove-Top Method: Heat 2 egg yolks over very low heat in saucepan with 1/4 cup of the most acidic liquid called for in the recipe. The acidity in vinegar and citrus juice helps prevent the yolks from curdling. Stir the yolks constantly until they thicken like lemon curd, 3 to 4 minutes. If using cooking thermometer, check that yolks are heated to 160 degrees or to 140 for 3 1/2 minutes.