Vitamin C-Rich Fruits Consumed During a Cold

Warm fruit drinks are popular during the winter. People also often turn to fruits, vegetables, and herbal teas during this season. Below are fruits described as sources of vitamin C during a cold, along with ways to use them in the kitchen.

Fruits Recommended During a Cold
Apples, mandarins, grapefruit, kiwi, oranges, pomegranates, carrots, and fresh ginger are among the foods experts recommend during cold and flu season. They add color and a range of flavors to fruit salads. Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, and mandarins can balance sweet and tart flavors in drinks and fruit salads.

A Lesser-Known Source of Vitamin C: Jujube
Jujube has a flavor reminiscent of a mix of apple, pear, and peach. It is less familiar but is described as a fruit rich in vitamin C. It is reported to contain about 100 times as much vitamin C as an apple and 20 times as much as a lemon. Fresh jujube can be hard to find, so it is often consumed dried or as a tea.

How Can You Use These Foods in the Kitchen?
Because heat reduces the vitamin C content of citrus fruits, eating them raw when possible or drinking their juice immediately after squeezing is recommended. Ginger can be grated into hot water and steeped with lemon to make tea; boiling ginger for a long time can reduce some of its aroma. Add pomegranate seeds to a salad or eat them on their own. Carrots can be eaten raw as a snack or made into fresh juice. Peel and slice kiwi to eat it directly; its soft texture also makes it easy to add to fruit salads. Serve grapefruit with a little honey on top to balance its bitter taste. Grated mandarin peel can be added to tea or desserts to use the fruit without waste.

What Should You Keep in Mind for Daily Use?
Serve sliced oranges and kiwi at breakfast or as snacks. Drink freshly squeezed juice soon after preparing it, since vitamins may be lost if it sits. For fruits such as apples and pears that can be eaten with their peel, wash the peel thoroughly; it also contains fiber and vitamins.

How Can You Use Them in Warm Drinks?
These foods can also be used in warm drinks during a cold. Steep orange or apple slices with a cinnamon stick in warm water to make an aromatic drink; this can maintain vitamin C intake and soothe the throat. A mixture of ginger, lemon, and honey is another commonly used preparation: grate ginger into hot water, remove it from the heat, then add lemon juice and honey. Because honey is thought to lose its properties at high heat, sweetening the mixture after it has cooled somewhat is recommended. It is thought that sipping this mixture in small amounts at different times of day has a more balanced effect than drinking a large amount all at once. Never give honey in any form to babies under 1 year old.