How to Cut Suprêmes

Suprême is a French term used to describe a citrus segment in which the inner flesh has been separated from the membrane, seeds, and outer white fluffy pith. Doing away with the membranes and bitter pitch makes citrus segments more enjoyable to eat in a composed dish, such as a salad or desert, and is an easy technique to master with a sharp knife. Any citrus - from plummelo to kumquat – can be cut into suprêmes.  This technique is vital for a Citrus Celebration.

1. “Top & Tail”: Cut the top and bottom off the orange and rest the bottom flat on the cutting board. 

2. Using the amount of pith (white part) that is exposed at the top as a gauge, run your knife from top to bottom along the curvature of the orange to remove the pith & peel from the flesh. Try to remove as little of the flesh as possible. Go all the way around the orange and clean up any necessary remaining pith. 

3. Holding the fruit over a bowl to catch any juice (if desired, or just cut over the cutting board), slice between the fruit and the membrane on each side of the segment, releasing it from the rest of the orange. Be careful to only slice halfway through the orange, and not into your hand. If you have to saw to accomplish this, your knife is NOT SHARP ENOUGH. Then deposit the new suprême in the bowl and continue around the fruit until all you have are the membranes left. I like to give these a final squeeze to release any juice (be careful of seeds) and there you are! 

For a well-made, short video on the subject (that also features a “headless chef”!) check out Chef Jacob Burton at Stella Culinary http://www.stellaculinary.com/podcasts/video/how-slice-citrus-supremes

If you are using a large quantity of citrus, think of saving the peel and candying it - check out the recipe here.