Berries or citrus - which would you choose?
To continue the trend of the spirit of JEP, I'm going to ask you to pick ONE to eat for the rest of your life at the lack of the other.
So which is it, would you rather be able to eat berries or citrus?
I'd have to go with berries. I'd miss my lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit but I love strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries way too much.
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26 Comments:
Berries all the way! Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries. They're great eaten out of hand or made into lovely pies, cobblers, and crisps.
Library Lady at 12:20PM on 05/16/08
I'd miss berries, but usually only eat them in season (except for freezer jam). I NEED citrus for my body and always have lemons and oranges on hand. Margaritas, gin and tonic and key lime pie - oh yeah, baby! Have to have those limes, too. I cook and bake with citrus, much more so than berries. Gosh, I'm so sad.
Let's say I'll make my definitive decision once strawberry season is over..........hehe.
A shout out to JEP from this corner, too.
PerkyMac at 12:31PM on 05/16/08
Definitely berries, I am the raspberry queen. Frozen raspberries are my favorite snack. I guess I would miss my morning grapefruit....mmm in-season strawberries....yeah definitely berries.
embolini9 at 12:49PM on 05/16/08
I'm inclined to say berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, cloudberries - they're all wonderful).
BUT
I use lots of lemons in my cooking, and I would be very hesitant to give that up. I never use berries in a savoury context, whereas I use citrus almost every day. It is also a good cleaning agent, and citrus fruit lasts longer, is more consistently available, and is so endlessly versatile. Also citrus is a key but hidden ingredient in so many good things: Earl Grey tea and, come to think of it, many berry dishes.
So citrus it is. It's not as glamourous, but it's indispensable.
caley at 1:09PM on 05/16/08
Berries!
mepolo at 1:18PM on 05/16/08
Berries for me. I don't know if it's the "always available" nature of citrus but the lure of perfect berries will win out over an orange any day for me.
chiff0nade at 1:19PM on 05/16/08
Wow, I'm surprised to be so in the minority here - For me it's citrus, no contest!
sobriquet at 1:30PM on 05/16/08
Definitely citrus! I use it too much in my cooking and usually only eat berries on their own and in-season.
earlybirdkate at 1:39PM on 05/16/08
Yay for my fellow berry lovers!
Chew on That at 1:39PM on 05/16/08
lemon, limes , grapefruit and of course orange juice freshly squeezed, not much into berries except for that giant berry......watermelon
Markbb at 2:03PM on 05/16/08
I think Caley said everything I was going to say....
So citrus it is!
lo82070 at 2:04PM on 05/16/08
Berries! I couldn't live without them :)
luswim06 at 2:16PM on 05/16/08
Citrus
You'd never be able to put lemon zest or juice in anything. The lack of zest alone might kill me.
And seriously, PerkyMac brings up the VERY important question of cocktails...gin and tonics with no lime for eternity would be a shame.
I love berries. Grew up eating raspberries of the vine in my backyard. But lemons and limes carry so much weight in so many savory and sweet dishes.
blackolive at 2:56PM on 05/16/08
This is a mean and scary question....may none of us ever have to actually choose! Eek!! :)
Although I can sure put away the berries, and love them SOOOO much...I gotta go with the citrus if I had to pick one for life, for the same reasons that have been stated. I officially use it more in cooking/baking (a pastry cook with no citrus? my brain is melting..) and even probably eat it more, simply because the fruits are larger.
@blackolive...lack of zest indeed! :D
And yes...what is life without a margarita?
But please do ask after berry season this year...I'm not ready to choose!
sadiepix at 4:10PM on 05/16/08
Eating pho without my lime wedge?
Yeah. Citrus it is.
Cassaendra at 6:07PM on 05/16/08
I'd have to choose citrus just based on the year-rounds availability. There's so mush you can do with citrus--both sweet and savory.
beth1 at 6:18PM on 05/16/08
...are these berries from strange continent where they're always in season? No? Citrus it is, then. I love berries, but oranges and tangerines get me through winters of meat and potatoes.
jenilowrance at 6:23PM on 05/16/08
So mean... I have to choose?! It would have to be citrus because we would all have scurvy with out some fresh citrus!
evilchefmom at 7:01PM on 05/16/08
great minds think alike evilchefmom. my first thought was "citrus for sure". my second was "scurvy!"
lexophile at 7:51PM on 05/16/08
what a cruel thought... i'd have to keep the citrus. i have a constant supply of lemons and limes in my fridge, i don't know how i would live without them!
cybercita at 9:55PM on 05/16/08
Citrus. No question about it.
(A blueberry pie isn't complete without a touch of lemon zest....)
moibec at 10:18PM on 05/16/08
This question actually hits home in a weird way right now. I've been taking antibiotics since Monday, and they have this funny effect on me - they make me more ill than whatever it is I have to take them for. So this entire week I've been very nauseous, dizzy and miserable, and all I've been able to eat all week are oranges and strawberries. Seriously. Perhaps if I were to answer this question some other time, I'd be able to make a coherent choice, but right now, I don't think I can:-).
brooke29 at 12:52AM on 05/17/08
I'm going with the citrus. They are a greater part of my "flavoring" repetoire, are available in reasonably good quality throughout the year and have a longer shelf life than most berries. Everyone within 50 miles of me knows that I can be prostituted for a bowl of blueberries, but the ways I choose to eat them would get me into big trouble if that's all I had...!
czken at 1:50AM on 05/17/08
Citrus!
All you berry eaters will just end up getting scurvy... ;-)
bodaciousgirl at 4:27PM on 05/17/08
I liked this question so much, we wound up using it for our Monthly Mouthful. So you can see what a whole bunch of food bloggers answered here: http://chewonthatblog.com/2008/06/04/june-monthly-mouthful/
Chew on That at 5:31PM on 06/04/08
Definitely citrus and it has NOTHING to do with my name.
lemons at 5:45PM on 06/04/08