Nourished by the rain, warmed by the sunshine, and nurtured with fertiliser and regular spraying, home orchards now bear testimony to the long months of growth from the first appearance of the sweet smelling blossoms.

Quite apart from enjoying citrus fruit in its natural state, Bermuda's cooks have devised interesting and delicious recipes for using the annual bounty.

Here's a sampling: LEMON BUTTER (also known as Lemon Curd) 3 eggs plus 3 egg yolks 1 1 cups sugar 1 cup butter 1 teaspoon salt grated rind of 3 lemons 1 cup lemon juice IN TOP part of a double boiler beat eggs and egg yolks with a fork. Add all other ingredients. Note: Top part of double boiler must not touch water in bottom part. Cook mixture over hot (not boiling) water, stirring frequently, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat when mixture forms a thick coating on a metal spoon and mounds slightly. (The mixture will be thicker upon cooking).

Store in a tightly covered container in refrigerator. The lemon butter will keep for some weeks. Makes 2 1 cups. (What's Cooking in Bermuda by Betsy Ross) .

LEMON NUT BREAD 1 cup butter 1 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 1 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk grated rind of 1 lemon 1 cup walnuts, chopped CREAM butter and sugar, beat in eggs. Sift dry ingredients together, add to creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Add lemon rind and walnuts.

Pour batter into buttered loaf tin. Bake at 350 degrees F. for one hour. When done, remove from oven and cover with the following topping: Place juice of 1 lemon (no more than 4 tablespoons) in small glass or cup.

Lower one tablespoon of sugar into juice. When sugar is moistened, spread on hot loaf with a knife as for icing. Repeat until all juice has been used (about 6 tablespoons of sugar). When the loaf is cold this will form a delicious sugary crust on top. (What's Cooking in Bermuda by Betsy Ross) .

BAKED GRAPEFRUIT) CUT grapefruit in half, remove seeds. Separate pulp from membrane with a sharp knife. Snip out centre core with scissors. Flute grapefruit edges with scissors.

Over each fruit half sprinkle 1 tablespoon Bermuda honey and about 2 teaspoons melted butter. Dust with nutmeg or cloves. Bake in hot oven of 450 degrees for about 10 minutes. Decorate with maraschino cherry and a Bermuda cherry leaf.

Serve hot. If desired, just before serving pour a tablespoon of port over each grapefruit half. Or the port may be added before baking. (What's Cooking in Bermuda by Betsy Ross) .

GRAPEFRUIT ALASKA CUT 3 grapefruit in half, remove fruit pulp in sections. Cut away membranes so that clean caps of peel are left. Half fill each cap with grapefruit sections.

Sprinkle with sugar and chill thoroughly.

When needed, place grapefruit halves on baking sheet, and place a scoop of vanilla ice cream in each one. Then completely cover with Marshmallow Meringue (see recipe below) -- right to the edge to seal in the ice cream. Place halves either in a very hot oven (525 degrees F.) until lightly browned, or under high broiler heat for about 1 minute. Watch very closely to be sure meringue does not brown too much. Serve immediately. Serves 6. (What's Cooking in Bermuda by Betsy Ross) .

Marshmallow Meringue 16 marshmallows 4 tsp. lemon juice 2 egg whites 1 cup fine granulated sugar 1 tsp. salt MELT marshmallows with lemon juice in double boiler, stirring until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly. Beat egg whites and salt until they hold soft peaks.

Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until whites form stiff peak. Fold in slightly warm marshmallow mixture. (What's Cooking in Bermuda by Betsy Ross) .

ORANGE-DATE CAKE) 1 cup butter or margarine 1 cup granulated sugar 1 egg, well beaten grated rind of 1 orange 1 cup chopped walnuts 1 cup chopped dates OR raisins 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup sour milk 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon lukewarm water juice of 1 orange 1 cup granulated sugar CREAM butter or margarine. Gradually blend in 1 cup sugar, creaming until light and fluffy. Add well-beaten egg and orange rind, stirring into mixture.

Mix together chopped walnuts and dates. Raisins may be used in place of the dates if desired. Sift then measure flour. Put a little of the flour into the fruit and toss with a fork.

To remaining flour, add baking powder and salt and sift together again. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour milk to butter mixture.

Dissolve soda in lukewarm water and add to batter. Fold in prepared fruit and nuts.

Note: To sour 1 cup of sweet milk, add 1 tablespoon vinegar.

Loaf: Bake in buttered loaf tin at 350 degrees F. for one hour. When it comes from the oven, spoon over the loaf a half cup of sugar dissolved in warmed juice of one orange.

Cake: Bake in buttered 12 x 8 cake tin at 350 degrees F. for half an hour.

Instead of orange topping, cool the cake and then ice with this delicious frosting: ORANGE BUTTER ICING) 4 tablespoons soft butter 1 egg yolk pinch of salt 2 cups icing sugar 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon orange juice grated rind of 2 oranges CREAM butter, beat in egg yolk and salt. Beat in icing sugar alternately with fruit juices. Add orange rind. Spread on cold cake. (What's Cooking in Bermuda by Betsy Ross) .

When the wind blows hard enough shake the fruit from the trees, Bermudians can suddenly have a great quantity of citrus on their hands. One good way to use up windfalls is: ORANGE TERRINE 25 oranges 3 ozs. Grand Marnier liqueur 20 leaves of gelatine PEEL oranges and remove segments. Keep pulp and central pith of each orange intact as you will need the juice. Squeeze pulp and pith and put juice into a saucepan. Add Grand Marnier and simmer.

Soak the gelatin in cold water until dissolved. Then add to simmering juice mixture.

Layer orange segments in terrine dish and cover each layer with juice. Repeat until dish is full. Leave to set in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 hours.

To serve: Fill a pan with hot water and soak the terrine dish in the hot water until the orange mixture leaves the sides of the dish. Turn it out on to a plate and slice in 20 portions. Serve with raspberry sauce (see recipe below).

A Taste of Bermuda by Jean-Claude Garzia) .

RASPBERRY SAUCE 1 lb. raspberries 1 cup sugar 1 cup water Pinch of cornstarch IN a saucepan combine raspberries, sugar and water. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Add cornstarch, dissolved in a few drops of water, and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Pass through a sieve then allow to cool. (A Taste of Bermuda by Jean-Claude Garzia) .

AVOCADO AND GRAPEFRUIT SALAD 1 tsp. crushed black pepper 2 shallots, finely chopped 2 tsp. fresh basil, finely chopped 2 tbsp. cooking sherry 1 tbsp. wine vinegar 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard 1 cup 2 Tbsps. vegetable oil 3 tbsps. olive oil 1 tbsp. chicken stock Salt 2 ripe avocados Juice of 1 lemon 2 Bermuda pink grapefruit 8 stalks Bermuda fennel 1 oz. chopped walnuts IN a saucepan combine the crushed peppercorns, shallots, basil, cooking sherry and vinegar. Cook over medium until mixture has reduced to 2 tbsps. Remove from heat. Add mustard and beat with a whisk. Then beat in vegetable and olive oil, followed by chicken stock. Season with salt and keep warm.

Peel avocados and cut each one into 10 slices. Leave the avocado slices in a bowl of lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Remove the rind and the pith from grapefruit. Separate carefully into segments. Arrange 5 avocado slices and 5 grapefruit segments in a fan shape on each plate. At the base of each fan, lay two stalks of fennel crosswise. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and pour on 3 tbsps. of warm dressing. (A Taste of Bermuda by Jean-Claude Garzia) .

BERMUDA LEMON MOUSSE WITH STRAWBERRY COULIS 3-4 lemons 1 orange 2 cup (5 1 ozs.) sugar 3 whole eggs 1 egg yolk 3 gelatin leaves 1 cup (9 ozs.) heavy cream Strawberry Coulis 1 cup water 1 cup (1 3 ozs.) sugar 1 cup (7 ozs.) strawberries 1 lemon SQUEEZE lemons and orange. Set aside one half of the juice and mix the other half with 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and just before mixture begins to caramelise quickly add rest of the juice.

Soak gelatin in warm water. Beat remaining 1 cup of sugar with eggs and fresh cream. Add juice mixture and drained, softened gelatin, heat gently. Remove from heat before mixture begins to boil and pour into individual ramekin dishes. Cool 3 hours in the refrigerator.

To prepare Strawberry Coulis: Make a syrup by boiling sugar and water for 2 minutes. Crush strawberries in a blender, add lemon juice and syrup and strain through a fine sieve. Unmould lemon mousse and serve with strawberry sauce. (A Taste of Bermuda by Jean-Claude Garzia).

BERMUDA SOUR ORANGE MARMALADE (Very old Recipe) RASP as many sour oranges as required. Put in plenty of water and soak overnight. Next day peel the rind off the pulp, cut in quarters and boil in fresh water until tender. Then cut the skins in narrow strips. To a bowl of skins put 3 lb. of sugar, the juice of 4 oranges and boil until sugar thickens. (Bermuda's Best Recipes) .