Orange (fruit)

The orange, also called sweet orange, is the fruit of a tree in the family Rutaceae. It is a hybrid called Citrus × sinensis, created from the pomelo and the mandarin orange.

Oranges began growing in places like Southern China, Northeast India, and Myanmar. People have enjoyed oranges for a very long time. Today, orange trees grow in warm areas all around the world. Oranges can be eaten fresh, squeezed for juice, or their peel can be used for its lovely smell.

Description

The orange tree is a small, green tree that blooms with flowers. It usually grows to be about 9 to 10 metres tall, but some very old trees can get up to 15 metres. The leaves are oval-shaped and have slightly wavy edges.

Oranges come in many sizes and shapes, from round to oval. Inside the orange, there is a white, bitter layer just under the skin. The orange itself is made up of several sections, each filled with juicy pockets and sometimes a few seeds. When the orange is not ready to eat, it looks green. When it is ripe, the skin can be bright orange, yellow-orange, or even stay green in some places. There are different kinds of oranges, such as common oranges, special coloured oranges, navel oranges, and oranges with less acid. An orange is a special type of fruit called a hesperidium.

History

Hybrid origins

Oranges are special because they are made from mixing two other fruits: the pomelo and the mandarin orange. This mixing happened a long time ago in places like Southern China, Northeast India, and Myanmar. Even though oranges look simple, they are interesting because they come from these two different fruits.

Oranges have also led to many other fruits, like grapefruits. People have created new kinds of oranges by mixing them with other fruits, which gives us different tastes and types of oranges.

Arab Agricultural Revolution

Further information: Arab Agricultural Revolution

In Europe, people learned about oranges from groups called the Moors. They brought oranges to Spain and started growing them a lot in the 10th century. Oranges became popular and were grown in special places by wealthy people. By the mid-1600s, oranges were known all over Europe.

Spread across Europe

After oranges arrived in Europe, they became a favorite fruit. Rich people grew them in special rooms called orangeries. Even famous kings like Louis XIV of France loved oranges and had many orange trees.

To the Americas

Spanish travelers brought oranges to the Americas. Explorers like Christopher Columbus may have planted them on an island called Hispaniola. Later, oranges were brought to places like South America, Mexico, and Florida. Missionaries also helped grow oranges in places like Arizona and California.

California

In California, missionaries first planted oranges a long time ago. Later, people like Jean-Louis Vignes and William Wolfskill started growing oranges for everyone. When gold was found in California, people needed food with vitamin C, so oranges became very important. New kinds of oranges, like the navel orange, were introduced and helped make California famous for oranges. Trains and better ways to protect oranges from cold weather made it easier to share them with people all over the country.

Etymology

Main article: Orange (word)

The word "orange" started in the languages of South India. It moved through many languages, like Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, and Old French, before it came into English. The word changed a little in each language. In some places, part of the word was dropped by mistake. The color orange was named after this fruit. People first used the word for the color orange in English in 1512.

Composition

Oranges are mostly water, with a little bit of carbohydrates, protein, and almost no fat. They are a great source of vitamin C, giving you more than half of what you need each day.

Oranges also contain many helpful plant chemicals, such as carotenoids and flavonoids, which give them their bright color and sweet smell. The taste of an orange depends on the balance of sugars and acids. Oranges are acidic.

Cultivars

Common

Common oranges, also called "white", "round", or "blond" oranges, are two-thirds of all oranges grown. Most of these oranges are used to make orange juice.

Valencia

Main article: Valencia orange

The Valencia orange is a late-season fruit. This means it is popular when other oranges, like navel oranges, are not in season. An English nurseryman named Thomas Rivers brought this orange from the Azores in 1865. Around 1870, he sent trees to a nurseryman in Long Island, who sold them in Federal Point, Florida.

Navel

Main article: Navel orange

Navel oranges have a small extra piece at the top that looks like a human navel. They are mainly eaten fresh because their thicker skin makes them easy to peel. They are less juicy and a bit bitter, so they are not usually used for juice. This type of orange has no seeds, so it must be grown from cuttings and grafting.

The Cara Cara is a special type of navel orange grown in Venezuela, South Africa, and California's San Joaquin Valley. It is sweet and has low acid, with pinkish-red flesh. It was found at the Hacienda Cara Cara in Valencia, Venezuela, in 1976.

Blood

Main article: Blood orange

Blood oranges have a deep red color inside and are grown around the Mediterranean. The red color comes out best when there are cool nights. The red color is due to a natural pigment.

Acidless

Acidless oranges are an early-season fruit with very little acid. In the United States, they are also called "sweet" oranges. In other countries, they have different names. Because they have little acid, they do not protect the juice from spoiling, so they are mainly eaten fresh. They can be profitable locally but spoil quickly, making them unsuitable for exporting to big cities.

Cultivation

Oranges grow best in warm places where temperatures stay between 15.5 and 29 °C (59.9 and 84.2 °F). They need lots of sunshine and water, usually in tropical and subtropical areas. Since oranges can be damaged by frost, farmers protect their trees in special ways.

Orange trees grown for selling are made by grafting. This means taking a piece from a mature tree and putting it on a young tree’s stem. This helps the oranges stay the same quality and resist diseases. It also makes trees produce fruit sooner.

When it’s time to pick oranges, machines often shake the trees. Oranges are ready to be picked when they turn pale orange. Sometimes, even ripe oranges look green, so they are treated with a gas to help them change color. At home, oranges can stay fresh for about a month when stored loosely.

Main articles: Fruit tree propagation and Citrus rootstock

Pests and diseases

Pests

The cottony cushion scale was a problem for orange trees in the United States. It came from Australia to California in 1868 and hurt many orange orchards. Scientists brought an Australian ladybird beetle to help stop the pest, and it helped a lot. Another pest is the orange dog caterpillar, which can eat the leaves of young orange trees.

Diseases

Citrus greening disease has been a problem for orange trees since 2010. It makes the leaves look strange and the fruit taste bad. This disease was first found in Florida in 1998 and has spread. It is spread by tiny insects called psyllids. There are ways to manage this disease, but it is still hard for orange growers.

Greasy spot is a fungal disease that causes spots on the leaves and can make the tree weaker. It comes from spores in fallen leaves.

Further information: List of citrus diseases

Production

Main article: Citrus production

In 2022, the world grew 76 million tonnes of oranges. Brazil grew the most, making up 22% of all oranges. Other big growers were India, China, and Mexico. In the United States, orange farms are mostly in Florida, California, and Texas. Florida’s oranges are mainly used for juice, while California’s are sold as fresh fruit. The Indian River area in Florida is famous for its high-quality juice, even though it grows fewer oranges.

Culinary use

Dessert fruit and juice

Further information: Orange juice

Oranges can taste sweet or sour. People often peel and eat them fresh for fun. Orange juice is made by squeezing the fruit with a special tool. This can be done at home or in big factories. Orange juice is sold all over the world. Frozen orange juice concentrate comes from freshly squeezed juice.

Marmalade

Main article: Marmalade

In many places, oranges are made into jam. In Britain, bitter Seville oranges are used to make marmalade. Almost all of Spain’s oranges for this go to Britain. The whole fruit is cut up and boiled with sugar. The white part of the peel, called pith, helps the marmalade thicken. An Englishwoman, Mary Kettilby, made the first recipe in 1714. Later, Janet Keiller from Dundee added peel pieces, giving the marmalade a bitter flavor. The peel has bitter substances like limonene and naringin.

Extracts

Further information: Limonene

The colorful outside of the orange peel can be scraped off, called zest, and used to add flavor to desserts and cocktails.

Sweet orange oil is made when making orange juice by pressing the peel. This oil is used to flavor foods and drinks. It is also used in perfumes and for aromatherapy because it smells nice. The oil is mostly made of a substance called D‑limonene, used in some household products. However, it can irritate skin.

Fruit and juice

[Zesting](/wiki/Zest_\(ingredient\)) an orange

Homemade [marmalade](/wiki/Marmalade), England

In human culture

Oranges have been important to people for a very long time. The sweet orange was first written about in ancient China in 314 BC. In China, artists and writers have celebrated oranges for their beauty and shape in poems and paintings.

In Europe, oranges appeared in art and were symbols of wealth and desire. Famous paintings show oranges in still lifes and special settings, like orange groves. Oranges were also grown in special buildings called orangeries, like the one at Versailles, to show off their beauty and value. Artists such as Vincent van Gogh also painted oranges in their works.