supreme

v. to remove the skin, pith, membranes, and seeds of a citrus fruit and separate its wedges. Also as noun, a wedge of citrus fruit. Subjects: English, Food & Drink

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Citations: 1994 Kerri Conan Restaurant Business (Mar. 20) “Cooked Life With Fruit” p. 54: Other citrus presentations include a sauteed free-range chicken, served with oven-roasted supremed orange wedges, and meat dishes flavored and garnished with house-preserved lemons—slashed fruit put up in jars with tons of coarse salt, coriander, crushed pepper, bay leaf, and topped off with lemon juice. 1998 Carole Walter Great Pies & Tarts (Apr. 7) p. 59: Supreming citrus fruits is to remove all of the fruit’s sections from the skin and membrane without damaging the individual wedges. A thin-bladed, very sharp knife is essential for this procedure. 2001 Mary Carroll The Record (New Jersey) (Feb. 28) “This Citrus Yields Sweet-Tart Possibilities” p. F03: The white jicama strips and red bell pepper make this salad a treat for the eyes as well as the taste buds. Follow the instructions given above to supreme the grapefruit, keeping the bitter membrane out of the salad. 2003 The Munching Muse (Nov. 13) “Fall Fennel Salad”: Supreme the orange: Slice off the top and bottom 1/2” of each orange, revealing the flesh. Cutting in sloping strips, use a sharp knife to remove the rest of the orange’s skin. Now cut the individual wedges apart into the bowl, leaving behind all pith. You’re left with just beautiful pieces of orange flesh. 2006 Peggasus Cheap Eats (Feb. 7) “Grapefruit”: The second technique you describe is called “supreming,” and the sections are called “supremes.” I usually do a bag of grapefruit all at once so that I can just scoop it from a jar rather than bothering each morning. 2006 Prepare To Meet Your Bakerina (May 3) “I’ll have the gralefrit (cake)”: Cut the grapefruit into sections (these are also known as “supremes,” with a short “e") and let them drain on paper towels; they will give up a lot of juice.

Posted 5 May 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

I HAVE ONLY HEARD OF THE CLEANING AND PEELING OF CITRUS AS - BOOKING THE FRUIT.

by Joann Pickrell 06 May 06, 1102 GMT

Any idea about the etymology of this?

by contrapunctus 08 May 06, 1241 GMT

No, but I suspect it’s French in origin. The clue is in the 2006 citation, where a pronunciation is explained. If, in fact, the word is pronounced with a short E (making it something like “su-PREMM") then it might be spelled “suprême.” However, none of my French dictionaries have anything food-related under “suprême” or “supreme.”

Merriam-Webster’ s Unabridged Dictionary, available here for free if you watch a short advertisement, has the following food-related definitions:

1. suprême: a rich white sauce made of chicken stock and cream—called also sauce suprême.

2. also supreme: a tall footed sherbet glass with a large bowl.

3a.: a made dish (as an entree) dressed with a sauce suprême <a >suprême</i> of sole> b also supreme: a dessert served in a suprême.

So a completely speculative and unreliable theory I have is that a citrus fruit, when cut in half and relieved of its slices, might leave a bowl of fruit skin that looks a bit like the suprême in sense 2, influenced perhaps by the citrusy nature of many sorbets.

by Grant Barrett 08 May 06, 1256 GMT

In French cooking, a suprême de volaille is a boneless and skinless breast of chicken; the term “suprême” is used to describe the same cut of duck ("suprême de canard") or other birds. By extension—meaning something from which all skin, bones, & other impediments to eating have been removed, it has long been applied to a skinless fish fillet. Now it has apparently been extended to a citrus section from which skin & membrane are removed. See Larousse Gastronomique, Julia Childs’ first cookbook (Mastering the Art of French Cooking) or the ever-reliable Marling Menu Master.

by Bill Simon 24 May 06, 0615 GMT

A-ha! That’s very interesting, Bill. It seems like a very good theory.

by Grant Barrett 24 May 06, 0620 GMT