THE NEW-YEAR ARSENAL

What would the New Year meal be like without its main attributes - oranges and tangerines? Azerbaijan's Lankaran area has them in abundance. This is why we call it the citrus paradise. Oranges and tangerines are favourites with our cheerful children and fruit gourmets. No matter what you say, for many they are the embodiment of childhood, the New Year, the New Year tree and Father Frost. Many of us have received them with the other delights among the New Year presents. But it is worth noting that oranges and tangerines are not just a festival for the soul, but for the body too thanks to their nutritive properties, which we shall talk about below.

Small, but effective

The tangerine is an evergreen bush, a species of the citrus rutaceae family; this means the fruit of this bush. Tangerines are grown in the Lankaran lowlands and are the main citrus culture in Azerbaijan. These plants were brought to our country from Southeast Asia (China and Japan). The mediaeval Azerbaijani healer Muhammed Mu'min wrote that, if you eat tangerines before lunch, they stimulate the appetite and prepare the stomach for digesting food. If the dried peel of the tangerine is mixed with mint and brewed like a tea, this tea can be drunk in the mornings to calm the nerves and in cases of heart diseases. The aromatic powder obtained from the dried peel can be added to food, beverages and medicines. When applying cosmetics tangerine juice is rubbed into the skin to reduce greasiness.

Tangerines contain a lot of vitamin C, sugars and citric acid. The peel is rich in strong-smelling ether oil - 0.6-2.5 per cent of the entire peel. It is recommended as a general tonic in cases of vitamin deficiency, colds and to improve digestion.

The flesh of the tangerine contains organic acids (citric and others - up to 06-1.1 per cent), sugar, vitamins (A, D, K, B4, thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic acid, rutin), and phytoncides. The peel also contains orange and lemon pigments, among them carotene (the provitamin of vitamin A). Tangerines also contain mineral substances like potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and calcium. The calorific value of 100 t of produce is 53 kcal.

Tangerines are also regarded as a valuable dietetic food. They boost the appetite, fortify the metabolic processes in the human body. In winter they can provide you with the large number of the vitamins you need. When consumed regularly, tangerines and tangerine juice fortify the body, improve the digestive processes and have an antimicrobial effect. The juice and fruit of the tangerine are recommended for treating dysentery also as a styptic remedy. In folk medicine an alcohol-based tincture of tangerine zest was popular to lessen the viscosity of phlegm and use in treating diseases of the upper respiratory tracts. Infusions and decoctions of tangerine zest are used as antiemetic and febrifugal remedies, as well as a binder in combating diarrhea.

Tangerines are suitable for fruit salads and desserts, they can be added to the filling in pies or to the layers in cakes. A sauce made of tangerines can be an excellent dressing for vegetable salads, as well as a gravy for meat and fish dishes.

But there may be times when it is not suitable. Tangerines can irritate the kidneys and the mucous membrane of the stomach and the intestine. For this reason they should not be given to people suffering from stomach and duodenal ulcers, gastritis, excessive acidity and so forth.

The orange beauty

The orange is the fruit of the orange tree, which is a hybrid of the tangerine and the grapefruit. It has been cultivated in China since 2,500 B.C. The Portuguese, who had taken over the trade routes close to the shores of India, brought oranges to Europe. It is thought that it was not until 1548 that oranges first appeared in Europe from South China. This is only partially true since it applies to Western Europe. With regard to the Mediterranean and Southern Europe, the Arabs had been growing them long before the "official" date mentioned. After the Spanish managed to drive out the Saracen invaders (this is how the Christians referred to the Muslims) from the Pyrenean peninsula and the isle of Sicily, orange trees, which had grown in the gardens of the local sultans and emirs, turned up quite often.

In the Muslim East in the Middle Ages oranges were used far less as a medicine than other citrus fruits like lemons, citrons (turunj) and wild oranges (narinj).

[The Arab scholar] Avicenna writes that orange leaf juice is also very good for you. It also helps in treating snake bites and inflammation of the sciatic nerve. 

Oranges contain vitamins A, B1, B2, C, PP, as well as microelements like magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, calcium and iron. They facilitate the purifying of the blood, act as a tonic for the whole body, injecting it with vital force and energy and boosting the appetite. Oranges have antiscorbutic substances and can therefore prevent scurvy and be used to treat it.. They are good in cases of anaemia, dyspepsia, loss of appetite, weakness and inertia owing to the vitamin B contained in them.

Dieticians believe that oranges have a rejuvenating effect on the body owing to their complex of properties. Because of their considerably high content of potassium and different vitamins, oranges are good for people suffering from hypertension, atherosclerosis, liver diseases, obesity and gout. Not only are the fruits good for you, but also the juice obtained from them too. Orange juice contains sugar, citric acid, gluten and organic salts such as sodium citrate. Orange juice has long been used to treat wounds and ulcers that take a long time to heal, and an aqueous decoction of orange peel, especially the peel of unripe fruits, was used as a styptic remedy. Orange juice has anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antiallergic properties and prevents the formation of thrombi. It was recently discovered that the juice of fresh oranges helps to lower blood cholesterol. Chinese physicians have even managed to use dried orange peel not only to treat coughs and colds, but also malignant mammary gland tumours.

The salicylic acid contained in oranges means that these fruits can successfully be used as a febrifugal remedy. The following recipe has been known since ancient times: 3-4 segments of an orange were steeped in 50 ml of boiling water at room temperature and left to soak for 30 minutes. But the orange's main quality is its vitamin C content. One hundred and 50 gr of orange flesh contains 80 mg of ascorbic acid, which is the daily norm for vitamin C consumption. When a person does not consume sufficient vitamin C, so-called chronic fatigue syndrome develops, the capacity to work and the mood declines, gradually causing drowsiness and recurrent colds.

Oranges have a beneficial effect on the digestive, endocrine, cardio-vascular and nervous systems. Orange juice stimulates the activity of all the body's functions, improves the metabolism and acts like a tonic. It is recommended in cases of vitamin deficiency and chronic fatigue syndrome. It is even good for people suffering from diabetes. Oranges boost the appetite and quench thirst well. It helps wounds and boils to heal. Orange peel contains 2 per cent ether oil, which is used in the perfume and confectionary industry.

TANGERINE SAUCE

3 tangerines

Juice of 2 oranges

Honey - 2 tablespoons

Brown sugar - 1 spoon

Black pepper - 1 teaspoon

Ginger - 2 teaspoons

Cocoa - half a teaspoon 

Peel the tangerines, separate the segments and squeeze the juice from the oranges. Mix all the ingredients together. Put them on a low heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Excellent served with poultry.

ORANGE SAUCE FOR FISH DISHES

Two oranges

1small onion

2 tablespoons of cream

2 tablespoons of butter

2 spoons of flour

A few drops of orange liqueur

Salt and white pepper and paprika to taste

Serve with either boiled or fried fish

Peel the oranges. Use a grater to grind it up. Squeeze the juice from the oranges using a fresh piece of cloth (or a squeezer). Melt some butter and roast minced onion. Add a bit of flour, stir it up. Add some creme, juice and liquor and mix them all together.

Put them on a low heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Add peels, salt and paprika and white pepper five minutes before it is ready. Great with both steamed and roasted fish.