Citrus Sauce

Citrus sauce is prepared by cooking fresh juice extracted from citrus fruits (orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit) with other flavoring ingredients. This sauce is generally served over desserts like cake or steamed pudding or is used as a topping over ice cream or fruits. Citrus sauce is also used as a glazing for meats, vegetables, and fishes.

Ingredients and Preparation

This sauce is prepared as a dessert sauce and it is usually served over desserts or as a topping on salads and fruits. The texture and aroma of a sauce is enhanced by adding a piece of zest.

Ingredients – Freshly squeezed citrus juice (orange or lime), castor sugar, and zest of chosen citrus fruit (orange or lime) are the ingredients required to make this sauce.

Method of Preparation- The sauce preparation begins by cooking sugar with citrus juice. The sugar is dissolved and the sauce is cooked until it gets reduced by half of its volume. The zest is added duringthe last few minutes of cooking. The sauce can stay fresh if kept refrigerated in airtight containers.

Substitution - Western cooks try to replicate the flavor of yuzu juice by combining lemon juices and grapefruit.  

Popular Citrus Sauce Recipe Variations

Following are some of the popular variations of the citrus juices, which differ from the original recipe due to choice of ingredients and its method of preparation. 

• Orange Citrus Steak Sauce – This sauce is served as a dip for baked, grilled, or broiled steak. The orange citrus sauce enhances the fruity flavor of sauce without adding to its calories.
  
  Ingredients – Chicken broth, orange rind, orange juice concentrate, instant flour, steak sauce, cold water and sugar are required to make this dish.
  
  Serving – The orange citrus steak sauce is either served in individual bowls or it is drizzled over steak before serving.

• Ponzu Sauce – A popular Japanese citrus fruit based sauce which is served with foods like tempura, sashimi, and rice. Like many other Japanese sauces this citrus fruit based sauce has not migrated outside Japan. It’s slightly sour, sweet, and salty flavor complements with many foods.
  
  Ingredients – Rice vinegar, mirin (a sweet Japanese rice wine), konbu (seaweed) and katsuobushi flakes (smoked, fermented and dried skipjack tuna) are required to make this sauce. Usually rice vinegar is used for imparting tart flavor but its choice may vary due to various reasons like taste preferences of individual, availability of ingredients and region where the sauce is prepared.