The Orchard

Orange blossom honey — properties, origin and why ours tastes of Valencia

Orange blossom honey is what bees produce when pollinating orange trees in bloom. Light colour, gentle aroma with citrus notes and a flavour unlike any other honey. The quintessential Valencia hone...

Easter in Valencia — mona, kites and the taste of horchata

Easter in Valencia: the mona cake, catxirulo kites in the sky, the pascueta in the countryside and cold horchata. Five traditions and a snack-time trick.

Giving fruit at Christmas without it looking like you ran out of time

Oranges and tangerines from Valencia as a Christmas gift: picked the day you order and delivered with your message to whichever door you choose.

Tangerines: from China to Valencia in three thousand years

The tangerine you peel without a knife has been travelling for three thousand years: from China to Valencia, by way of India and the Portuguese. Its other name, mandarin, comes from China’s imperia...

World Oceans Day — what the sea has to do with your Valencia oranges

World Oceans Day falls on 8 June. Before you think this has nothing to do with a citrus shop, let us explain something: the Albufera of Valencia — the freshwater lake that feeds the rice paddies an...

Natura 2000 — what it is, what it protects in Valencia and what it has to do with citrus

Natura 2000 is the world’s largest network of protected areas. What it is, which sites it protects near Valencia and why sustainable farming helps conserve them.

Valencia’s huerta — what it is, why it matters and what it has to do with your oranges

Valencia’s huerta is one of Europe’s oldest working agricultural landscapes. Arab irrigation channels, the Water Tribunal and orange groves have shaped this cultural heritage for over a thousand ye...

Las Fallas de Valencia — what they are, why they burn and what they have to do with oranges

Las Fallas are UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2016. Ephemeral monuments, social satire and purifying fire in a neighbourhood festival that has shaped Valencian identity for centuries.

Origin of the lemon — history, curious facts and Valencia lemons

The lemon is one of those fruits everyone thinks they know. It sits in the kitchen, turns up in home remedies, lies on every restaurant table. But its history is considerably longer and stranger th...

Orange blossom — what it is, what it does and why Valencia smells of it

If you have walked through Valencia in March, you know. That sweet, unmistakable scent that wraps the streets when the orange trees bloom. It is the orange blossom — the white flower of the bitter ...