What to do with honey orange slices?

December 18, 2018 4:30 PM

I made five jars of these honey orange slices, and they turned out very harsh. Too harsh to eat straight out of the jar, which had been my plan. What else can I do with them?

They taste very strongly of honey (I used a local clover honey, if it makes any difference) and they’re a little bitter.

I tried mixing a few slices and some of the syrup with plain, high-quality vodka, and it was still pretty harsh. It would probably have been good watered down with Sprite, but I didn’t have any on hand.

What else can I try with this stuff? I’m open to mixed drinks and whatever else you can think of.

posted by liet to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

I wonder if you could cook them down into a marmalade, perhaps adding a bit more white sugar to taste and/or adding in some fresh oranges to cut the honey a bit.

You could also make an Old Fashioned of sorts -- muddle a slice in the bottom of a cocktail glass with a bit of the syrup, top with ice, pour the whiskey over, add bitters, stir. Top with some plain seltzer, if you prefer it as a long drink.
posted by halation at 4:38 PM on December 18, 2018 [6 favorites]

How about like with a pork loin, like a chutney?
posted by Perplexity at 4:39 PM on December 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

That sounds pretty close to Japanese Honey Lemons, where you take slices of honey preserved lemon and pour hot water or tea over them to make a soothing drink. So yeah, I would try watering it down and maybe adding some additional orange juice if the fruit flavor still doesn't come through.
posted by ananci at 4:53 PM on December 18, 2018 [4 favorites]

I'll second making a "tea" with them. I buy something similar from Korean grocery stores which as far as I can tell is honey and fruit (citrus or ginger) and its pretty good.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:03 PM on December 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

I think they'd be nice as an addition to Winter teas. Those ones that are filled with warming, mulling spices or even hot apple cider. Just float an orange in your mug instead of adding sugar.
posted by TooFewShoes at 5:37 PM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

I made marmalade with some very bitter Seville oranges, and when I opened up the first jar, it was so intensely orangey the vapor coming off of it burned my eyes and the marmalade itself was almost inedible.

So I put it in the back of the fridge and forgot about it, and when I was about to throw it away most of a year later, I gave it one last taste and it was ambrosial. I later read that true marmalade aficionados have the same regard for vintage marmalade that oenophiles have for aged wines.

I think you should put it aside and see what it tastes like next year.
posted by jamjam at 6:13 PM on December 18, 2018 [14 favorites]

You could try slicing them in half and dehydrating them.
posted by aniola at 6:19 PM on December 18, 2018

errr, they are already sliced. but! I really bet that if you spread it out and dehydrated it, that it would be so good.
posted by aniola at 6:20 PM on December 18, 2018

flavor a cake with them?
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:59 PM on December 18, 2018

Flavor your oatmeal/Cream of wheat with them? Instead of pineapple and cherries, use them to dress a big ham before baking?
posted by Cranberry at 11:18 PM on December 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Upside down Gingerbread or honey cake ‘topped’ with oranges and syrup.
posted by five_cents at 6:42 AM on December 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

How good would these be in a hot toddy? So good, is my prediction.
posted by fiercecupcake at 7:31 AM on December 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

You could make some mulled cider or mulled wine with them.
posted by fancyoats at 5:16 PM on December 19, 2018