The orange (specifically, the sweet orange) is the fruit of the citrus species Citrus × sinensis in the family Rutaceae.[2] The fruit of theCitrus sinensis is called sweet orange to distinguish it from that of the Citrus aurantium, the bitter orange. The orange is a hybrid, possibly between pomelo (Citrus maxima) and mandarin (Citrus reticulata), cultivated since ancient times.[3]
Probably originated in Southeast Asia,[4] oranges were already cultivated in China as far back as 2500 BC. Between the late 15th century and the beginnings of the 16th century, Italian and Portuguese merchants brought orange trees in the Mediterranean area. The Spanish introduced the sweet orange to the American continent in the mid-1500s.
Orange trees are widely grown in tropical and subtropical climates for its sweet fruit, which can be eaten fresh or processed to obtain juice, and for its fragrant peel.[4] They have been the most cultivated tree fruit in the world since 1987,[5] and sweet oranges account for approximately 70% of the citrus production.[6] In 2010, 68.3 million tonnes of oranges were grown worldwide, particularly in Brazil and in the US states of California[7] and Florida.[8]
The origin of the term orange is presumably the Sanskrit word for "orange tree" (नारङगम्, nāraṅga),[9] whose form has changed over time, after passing through numerous intermediate languages. The fruit is known as "Chinese apple" in several modern languages. Some examples are Dutch sinaasappel[10] (literally, "China's apple") and appelsien, or Low German Apfelsine. In English, however, Chinese apple usually refers to the pomegranate.[11]
Botanical information and terminology
All citrus trees belong to the single genus Citrus and remain almost entirely interfertile. This means that there is only onesuperspecies that includes grapefruits, lemons, limes, oranges and various other types and hybrids.[12] As the interfertility of oranges and other citrus has produced numerous hybrids, bud unions and cultivars, their taxonomy is fairly controversial, confusing or inconsistent.[3][6] The fruit of any citrus tree is considered a hesperidium (a kind of modified berry) because it has numerous seeds, is fleshy and soft, derives from a single ovary and is covered by a rind originated by a rugged thickening of the ovary wall.[13][14]
Different names have been given to the many varieties of the genus. Orange applies primarily to the sweet orange – Citrus sinensis(L.) Osbeck. The orange tree is an evergreen, flowering tree, with an average height of 9 to 10 metres (30 to 33 ft), although some very old specimens can reach 15 metres (49 ft).[15] Its oval leaves, alternately arranged, are 4 to 10 centimetres (1.6 to 3.9 in) long and have crenulate margins.[16] Although the sweet orange presents different sizes and shapes varying from spherical to oblong, it generally has ten segments (carpels) inside, contains up to six seeds (or pips)[17] and a porous white tissue – called pith or, more properly, mesocarp or albedo –[18] lines its rind. When unripe, the fruit is green. The grainy irregular rind of the ripe fruit can range from bright orange to yellow-orange, but frequently retains green patches or, under warm climate conditions, remains entirely green. Like all other citrus fruits, the sweet orange is non-climacteric. The Citrus sinensis is subdivided into four classes with distinct characteristics: common oranges, blood or pigmented oranges, navel oranges and acidless oranges.[19][20][21]
Other citrus species also known as oranges are:
- the bitter orange (Citrus aurantium), also known as Seville orange, sour orange – especially when used as rootstock for a sweet orange tree –, bigarade orange and marmalade orange;
- the bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia Risso). It is grown mainly in Italy for its peel, which is used to flavour Earl Grey tea;
- the trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata), sometimes included in the genus (classified as Citrus trifoliata). It often serves as a rootstock for sweet orange trees, especially as a hybrid with other Citrus cultivars. The trifoliate orange is a thorny shrub or small tree grown mostly as an ornamental plant or to set up hedges. It bears a downy fruit similar to a small citrus, used to make marmalade. It is native to northern China and Korea, and is also known as "Chinese bitter orange" or "hardy orange" because it can withstand subfreezing temperatures;[22] and
- the mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata). It has an enormous number of cultivars, most notably the satsuma (Citrus unshiu), the tangerine (Citrus tangerina) and the clementine (Citrus clementina). In some cultivars, the mandarin is very similar to the sweet orange, making it difficult to distinguish the two. The mandarin, though, is generally smaller and oblate, easier to peel and less acid.[23]
Orange trees are generally grafted. The bottom of the tree, including the roots and trunk, is called rootstock, while the fruit-bearing top has two different names: budwood (when referring to the process of grafting) and scion (when mentioning the variety of orange).[24]
Varieties
Common oranges
Common oranges (also called "white", "round" or "blond" oranges) constitute about two-thirds of all the orange production. The majority of their crop is used mostly for juice extraction.[19][21]
Valencia
Main article: Valencia orange
The Valencia orange is a late-season fruit, and therefore a popular variety when navel oranges are out of season. This is why an anthropomorphic orange was chosen as the mascot for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, held in Spain. The mascot was named Naranjito ("little orange") and wore the colours of the Spanish national football team kit.
Hart's Tardiff Valencia
Thomas Rivers, an English nurseryman, imported this variety from the Azores Islands and catalogued it in 1865 under the name Excelsior. Around 1870, he provided trees to S. B. Parsons, a Long Island nurseryman, who in turn sold them to E. H. Hart of Federal Point, Florida.[25]
Hamlin
This cultivar was discovered by A.G. Hamlin near Glenwood, Florida, in 1879. The fruit is small, smooth, not highly coloured, seedless and juicy, with a pale yellow coloured juice, especially in fruits that come from lemon rootstock. The tree is high-yielding and cold-tolerant and produces good quality fruit, which is harvested from October to December. It thrives in humid subtropical climates. In cooler, more arid areas, the trees produce edible fruit, but too small for commercial use.[15]
Trees from groves in hammocks or areas covered with pine forest are budded on sour orange trees, a method that gives a high solids content. On sand, they are grafted on rough lemon rootstock.[5] The Hamlin orange is one of the most popular juice oranges in Florida and replaces the Parson Brown variety as the principal early-season juice orange. This cultivar is now[needs update] the leading early orange in Florida and, possibly, in the rest of the world.[15]
Other varieties of common oranges
- Belladonna: grown in Italy.
- Berna: grown mainly in Spain.
- Biondo Commune ("ordinary blond"): widely grown in the Mediterranean basin, especially in North Africa, Egypt, Greece (where it is called "koines"), Italy (where it is also known as "Liscio") and Spain. It is also called "Beledi" and "Nostrale".[19] In Italy, this variety ripens in December, earlier than the competing Tarocco.[26]
- Biondo Riccio: grown in Italy.
- Cadanera: a seedless orange of excellent flavour grown in Algeria, Morocco and Spain. It begins to ripen in November and is known by a wide variety of trade names, such as Cadena Fina, Cadena sin Jueso, Precoce de Valence ("early from Valencia"), Precoce des Canaries and Valence san Pepins ("seedless Valencia").[19] It was first grown in Spain in 1870.[27]
- Calabrese or Calabrese Ovale: grown in Italy.
- Carvalhal: grown in Portugal.
- Castellana: grown in Spain.
- Clanor: grown in South Africa.
- Dom João: grown in Portugal.
- Fukuhara: grown in Japan.
- Gardner: grown in Florida. This mid-season orange ripens around the beginning of February, around the same time as the Midsweet variety. Gardner is about as hardy as Sunstar and Midsweet.[28]
- Homosassa: grown in Florida.
- Jaffa orange: grown in the Middle East, also known as "Shamouti".
- Jincheng: the most popular orange in China.
- Joppa: grown in South Africa and Texas.
- Khettmali: grown in Israel and Lebanon.
- Kona: a type of Valencia orange introduced in Hawaii in 1792 by Captain George Vancouver. For many decades in the 19th century, these oranges were the leading export from the Kona district on the Big Island of Hawaii. In Kailua-Kona, some of the original stock still bears fruit.
- Lue Gim Gong: grown in Florida. It is an early scion developed by Lue Gim Gong, a Chinese immigrant known as the "Citrus Genius". In 1888, Lue cross-pollinated two orange varieties – the Hart's late Valencia and the Mediterranean Sweet – and obtained a fruit both sweet and frost-tolerant. This variety was propagated at the Glen St. Mary Nursery, which in 1911 received the Silver Wilder Medal by the American Pomological Society.[5][29] Originally considered a hybrid, the Lue Gim Gong orange was later found to be a nucellar seedling of the Valencia type,[30]which is properly called Lue Gim Gong. As from 2006, the Lue Gim Gong variety is grown in Florida, although sold under the general name Valencia.
- Macetera: grown in Spain, it is known for its unique flavour.
- Malta: grown in Pakistan.
- Maltaise Blonde: grown in north Africa.
- Maltaise Ovale: grown in South Africa and in California under the names of Garey's or California Mediterranean Sweet.
- Marrs: grown in Texas, California and Iran, it is relatively low in acid.
- Midsweet: grown in Florida, it is a newer scion similar to the Hamlin and Pineapple varieties. It is hardier than Pineapple and ripens later. The fruit production and quality are similar to those of the Hamlin, but the juice has a deeper colour.[28]
- Moro Tarocco: grown in Italy. It is oval, resembles a tangelo and has a distinctive caramel-coloured endocarp. This colour is the result of a pigment called anthocarpium, not usually found in citruses, but common in red fruits and flowers. The original mutation occurred in Sicily in the 17th century.
- Mosambi: grown in India and Pakistan, it is so low in acid and insipid that it might be classified as acidless.
- Narinja: grown in Andhra, South India.
- Parson Brown: grown in Florida, Mexico and Turkey. Once a widely grown Florida juice orange, its popularity has declined since new varieties with more juice, better yield and higher acid and sugar content have been developed. It originated as a chance seedling in Florida in 1865. Its fruits are round, medium large, have a thick, pebbly peel and contain 10 to 30 seeds. It is still grown because it is the earliest maturing fruit in the United States: usually matures in early September in the Valley district of Texas,[21] and from early October to January in Florida.[28] Its peel and juice colour are poor, as is the quality of its juice.[21]
- Pera: grown in Brazil. It is very popular in the Brazilian citrus industry and yielded 7.5 million tonnes in 2005.
- Pera Coroa: grown in Brazil.
- Pera Natal: grown in Brazil.
- Pera Rio: grown in Brazil.
- Pineapple: grown in North and South America and India.
- Premier: grown in South Africa.
- Rhode Red: is a mutation of the Valencia orange, but the colour of its flesh is more intense. It has more juice, and less acidity and vitamin C. It was discovered by Paul Rhode in 1955 in a grove near Sebring, Florida.
- Roble: it was first shipped from Spain in 1851 by Joseph Roble to his homestead in what is now Roble's Park in Tampa, Florida. It is known for its high sugar content.
- Queen: grown in South Africa.
- Salustiana: grown in North Africa.
- Sathgudi: grown in Tamil Nadu, South India.
- Seleta, Selecta: grown in Australia and Brazil. It is high in acid.
- Shamouti Masry: grown in Egypt. It is a richer variety of Shamouti.
- Sunstar: grown in Florida. This newer cultivar ripens in mid-season (December to March) and it is more resistant to cold and fruit-drop than the competing Pineapple variety. The colour of its juice is darker than that of the competing Hamlin.[28]
- Tomango: grown in South Africa.
- Verna: grown in Algeria, Mexico, Morocco and Spain.
- Vicieda: grown in Algeria, Morocco and Spain.
- Westin: grown in Brazil.
Navel oranges are characterized by the growth of a second fruit at the apex, which protrudes slightly and resembles a human navel. They are primarily grown for human consumption for various reasons: their thicker skin make them easier to peel, they are less juicy and their bitterness – a result of the high concentrations of limonin and other limonoids – renders them less suitable for juice.[19] Their widespread distribution and long growing season have made navel oranges very popular. In the United States, they are available from November to April, with peak supplies in January, February and March.[31]
According to a 1917 study by Palemon Dorsett, Archibald Dixon Shamel and Wilson Popenoe of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a single mutation in a Selecta orange tree planted on the grounds of a monastery near Bahia, Brazil, probably yielded the first navel orange between 1810 and 1820.[32] Nevertheless, a researcher at the University of California, Riverside, has suggested that the parent variety was more likely the Portuguese navel orange (Umbigo), described by Antoine Risso and Pierre Antoine Poiteau in their book Histoire naturelle des orangers ("Natural History of Orange Trees", 1818–1822).[32] The mutation caused the orange to develop a second fruit at its base, opposite the stem, as a conjoined twin in a set of smaller segments embedded within the peel of the primary orange.[33] Navel oranges were introduced in Australia in 1824 and in Florida in 1835. In 1870, twelve cuttings of the original tree were transplanted to Riverside, California, where the fruit became known as "Washington".[34] This cultivar was very successful, and rapidly spread to other countries.[32] Because the mutation left the fruit seedless and, therefore, sterile, the only method to cultivate navel oranges was to graft cuttings on to other varieties of citrus tree. The California Citrus State Historic Park and the Orcutt Ranch Horticulture Centerpreserve the history of navel oranges in Riverside.
Today, navel oranges continue to be propagated through cutting and grafting. This does not allow for the usual selective breeding methodologies, and so all navel oranges can be considered fruits from that single nearly two-hundred-year-old tree: they have exactly the same genetic make-up as the original tree and are, therefore, clones. This case is similar to that of the common yellow seedless banana, the Cavendish. On rare occasions, however, further mutations can lead to new varieties.[32]
Cara cara oranges (also called "red navel") are a type of navel orange grown mainly in Venezuela, South Africa and in California's San Joaquin Valley. They are sweet and comparatively low in acid,[35] with a bright orange rind similar to that of other navels, but their flesh is distinctively pinkish red. It is believed that they have originated as a cross between the Washington navel and the Brazilian Bahia navel[36] and were discovered in the Hacienda Cara Cara in Valencia, Venezuela, in 1976.[37]
South African cara caras are ready for market in early August, while Venezuelan fruits arrive in October and Californian fruits in late November.[35][36]
- Bahianinha or Bahia
- Dream Navel
- Late Navel
- Washington or California Navel
Blood oranges
Main article: Blood orange
Blood oranges are a natural mutation of the C. sinensis, although today the majority of them are hybrids. High concentrations of anthocyanin give the rind, flesh and juice of the fruit their characteristic dark red colour. Blood oranges were first discovered and cultivated in Sicily in the 15th century. Since then they have spread worldwide, but are grown especially in Spain and Italy – under the names of sanguina and sanguinella, respectively.
The blood orange, with its distinct colour and flavour, is generally considered the most delicious juice orange[19] and has found a niche as an ingredient variation in traditional Seville marmalade.
Other varieties of blood oranges
- Maltese: a small and highly coloured variety, generally thought to have originated in Italy as a mutation and cultivated there for centuries. It is also extensively grown in southern Spain and Malta. It is used in sorbets and other desserts due to its rich burgundy colour.
- Moro: originally from Sicily, it is common throughout Italy. This medium-sized fruit has a relatively long harvest, which lasts from December to April.
- Sanguinelli: a mutant of the Doble Fina, discovered in 1929 in Almenara, in the Castellón province of Spain. It is cultivated in Sicily.
- Scarlet navel: a variety with the same mutation as the navel orange.
- Tarocco: a relatively new variety developed in Italy. It begins to ripen in late January.[26]
Acidless oranges
Acidless oranges are an early-season fruit with very low levels of acid and rather insipid. They are also called "sweet" oranges in the US, with similar names in other countries: douce in France,sucrena in Spain, dolce or maltese in Italy, meski in North Africa and the Near East (where they are especially popular), şeker portakal[38] ("sugar orange") in Turkey, succari in Egypt and lima in Brazil.[19]
The lack of acid, which protects orange juice against spoilage in other groups, renders them generally unfit for processing, so that they are primarily eaten. They remain profitable in areas of local consumption, but rapid spoilage renders them unsuitable for export to major population centres of Europe, Asia or the United States.[19]
Attributes
Nutritional value
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 197 kJ (47 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 11.75 g |
| - Sugars | 9.35 g |
| - Dietary fibre | 2.4 g |
| Fat | 0.12 g |
| Protein | 0.94 g |
| Water | 86.75 g |
| Vitamin A equiv. | 11 μg (1%) |
| Thiamine (vit. B1) | 0.087 mg (8%) |
| Riboflavin (vit. B2) | 0.04 mg (3%) |
| Niacin (vit. B3) | 0.282 mg (2%) |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) | 0.25 mg (5%) |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.06 mg (5%) |
| Folate (vit. B9) | 30 μg (8%) |
| Choline | 8.4 mg (2%) |
| Vitamin C | 53.2 mg (64%) |
| Vitamin E | 0.18 mg (1%) |
| Calcium | 40 mg (4%) |
| Iron | 0.1 mg (1%) |
| Magnesium | 10 mg (3%) |
| Manganese | 0.025 mg (1%) |
| Phosphorus | 14 mg (2%) |
| Potassium | 181 mg (4%) |
| Zinc | 0.07 mg (1%) |
| Link to USDA Database entry Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database | |
![[icon]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section requires expansion with: nutritional properties (see talk page).(November 2012) |
Oranges, like most citrus fruits, are a good source of vitamin C.
Acidity
Like all citrus fruits, the orange is acidic: its pH levels are as low as 2.9[39] and as high as 4.0.[39][40]
Grading
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has established the following grades for Florida oranges, which primarily apply to oranges sold as fresh fruit: US Fancy, US No. 1 Bright, US No. 1, US No. 1 Golden, US No. 1 Bronze, US No. 1 Russet, US No. 2 Bright, US No. 2, US No. 2 Russet and US No. 3.[41] The general characteristics graded are colour (both hue and uniformity), firmness, maturity, varietal characteristics, texture and shape. Fancy, the highest grade, requires the highest grade of colour and absence of blemishes, while the terms Bright, Golden, Bronze andRusset concern solely discolouration.
Grade numbers are determined by the amount of unsightly blemishes on the skin and firmness of the fruit that do not affect consumer safety. The USDA separates blemishes into three categories:
- General blemishes: ammoniation, buckskin, caked melanose, creasing, decay, scab, split navels, sprayburn, undeveloped segments, unhealed segments and wormy fruit.
- Injuries to fruit: bruises, green spots, oil spots, rough, wide or protruding navels, scale, scars, skin breakdown and thorn scratches.
- Damage caused by dirt or other foreign material, disease, dryness or mushy condition, hail, insects, riciness or woodiness, and sunburn.[41]
The USDA uses a separate grading system for oranges used for juice because appearance and texture are irrelevant in this case. There are only two grades: US Grade AA Juice and US Grade A Juice, which are given to the oranges before processing. Juice grades are determined by three factors:
- The juiciness of the orange.
- The amount of solids in the juice (at least 10% solids are required for the AA grade).
- The proportion of anhydric citric acid in fruit solids.
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