Everything you need to know about oranges

Many times we wonder what is the origin of the orange and what are its properties. We have talked about it before, but we had never talked about this. So we do it now, better late than never!

Origin: Asia

The Valencian orange comes from China or Southwest Asia. There it arose from a mixture of mandarin and grapefruit. It is only since the 15th century that the orange is also eaten here in Europe. It arrived (like many other products) with the Portuguese traders from India. The fruit had a rather difficult take-off in the other European countries. At first only the Portuguese cultivated and ate them.

Expansion of the orange

Its spread was due to the fact that thanks to the vitamin C it contains, it was possible to combat scurvy. A common disease in the ship voyages of that time and that could cause death. Thus, the Portuguese planted oranges in all the ports they could to make the way to the Indies and thus achieved the tremendous popularity it has. In America, it was the Spanish who brought the crop to the New World.

Today the orange is the most demanded citrus fruit in the world. There are plantations in Brazil, USA, Mexico, India and of course Spain and China (Brazil is the largest producer, followed by the USA.)

What is the orange tree like?

Orange trees are perennial trees of medium size. Their flowers are called orange blossoms and are white or slightly yellow, depending on the pollen they contain. They smell wonderful and unmistakably good.

In Europe they bloom between February and June. Depending on the variety they are harvested between November and May. Here you have a ripening calendar of the varieties:

You might imagine that their name "orange" comes from the color, but it is rather the other way around. The color is named after the fruit.

Orange varieties

At citrusricus we grow the following varieties: Navelina, Navelate and NavelPowell.

The Navelina opens the orange season. It is harvested with medium oval fruits between October and February. It is an early variety with consistent and juicy flesh and no core.

The Navelate is the sweetest, most flavorful orange with the most juice. The Navelate orange has a very sensitive skin. It often suffers from scratches due to the occasional wind that blows it around and from slight alterations of the rind that are not noticeable inside at all; or there are very slight punctures, because the branches have thorns. In short, nothing substantial for what really matters, which is the flavor, and not in all the fruits, only in part of them. But it has been enough to be shunned, when it should be the other way around. So it is currently commercially unprofitable and has practically disappeared.

Powel is large, round and seedless. Its juice is low in acidity and high in sugars.

Once again, in Citrusricus we bet for the quality of the fruit instead of the turnover.

If you want to order Valencian oranges online at home, visit our website citrusricus.com. To learn more about this world as well as all the news and interesting recipes, become a fan on our Facebook or subscribe to our blog.

Best regards, Citrusricus