Key Ingredient
Eleanor Nakama-Mitsunaga
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KEY INGREDIENT
Local oranges no beauty queens
It's peak season for many varieties of citrus fruits, including our own local orange. Originally referred to as the Kona orange, it is now grown in many parts of the state.
Two types of oranges grow well in the islands -- a Washington navel variety and the Valencia. Location is key to sweetness -- generally lower elevations produce will sweeter fruit. All varieties of local orange are well-balanced in sweet and acid levels and tend to be very juicy.
Their appearance, however, leaves much to be desired. Size, color and shape are often inconsistent, yielding oranges that look pale yellow, light green or brownish and gnarly. But don't judge this fruit by its rind. Local oranges will surprise you with flavor that stands up well to any imported citrus.
They can be found sporadically in most supermarkets, Chinatown and farmers' markets, priced from $1 and $1.50 a pound.
BOOKS FOR COOKS
Get a charge out of HECO's recipes
The employees of Hawaiian Electric Co. are hoping that you will put your money where your tastebuds are and shell out some bucks for a cookbook to benefit the Aloha United Way.
The HECO employee cookbook, "A Taste to Remember -- Vol. 2: Local Flavors from Hawaiian Electric Company," is the crux of an annual in-house drive to raise funds for the United Way.
Many of the 200 recipes -- submitted by HECO employees, retirees, families and friends -- have been handed down from generation to generation. Consider Nora's Portuguese Pickled Fried Sardines, Elsie's Easy Egg Drop Soup or Kathleen Sato's Corned Beef Cabbage Sandwich, which she's been making since elementary school.
Buy it for $10 from HECO's customer service offices, downtown or on Ward Avenue. For mail-order information and to check out a sampling of recipes, turn to "The Electric Kitchen" on Page D5.