Tart. Tangy. Sweet. Sour. There are many fruits that have these qualities individually, but how often is it that a fruit contains every single one of them? Citrus fruit is probably the most interesting type of fruit there is because of all of the taste sensations it provides! One of the most popular types of citrus fruit, oranges, are very closely linked to the United States through Florida and California. Oranges, like other citruses, are actually not native to the U.S. region. Most citrus fruits came from Portuguese merchants, who live in subtropical environments, through trade. Are you interested in learning more interesting things about these fruits? Read here for citrus fruit wall art ideas and facts!
Tart & Tangy
- The common sweet orange that is eaten around the world today as the Latin name of Citrus sinensis and originated in regions between Southwest China and Northeast India. Cultivated in that region for thousands of years, it took a long time before it spread across the Middle East from China through Arab traders. Oranges were first cultivated in the Mediterranean around 1450.
- The sustainability of citrus is cause for concern; most citrus trees leave a large environmental footprint because of the amount of water that’s necessary for maintaining them. The citrus industry also uses a lot of chemicals, with oranges in particular ranked high in the amount of pesticides used.
- When you peel an orange, what is it that you see? That white sponge-like membrane that you see covering each orange segment is called albedo. This membrane has oil glands that contain an orange’s characteristic aroma.
- The next time you purchase citrus fruit, watch it over aa period of a few days. You’ll notice that they don’t ripen on your shelf over time like bananas or mangos. This is because citrus fruit is non-climacteric; this means they don’t contain starch that breaks down the fruit over time. They all ripen on trees!
- Speaking of oranges, did you know that sweet ones are placed into different groups? Some of these groups are: navel, common, pigmented, acidless and sugar. If you’ve ever had freshly squeezed orange juice, you most likely had it from a Valencia orange; these are known for being particularly juicy and sweet. If you buy a bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice, you will absolutely not being drinking juice from a navel orange. Wondering why? When navel oranges are squeezed, a chemical limonin is released. This makes them taste bitter! Read below for more citrus fruit facts.
Sweet & Sour
- Have you ever been offered a blood orange? If it wasn’t already obvious, the name refers more to the color of the orange than what is actually inside of it. Wondering why they’re red? Blood oranges are red because they contain a pigment called anthocyanin, which is also the cause for the color of red grapes and any type of red berry. The official names of blood orange varieties are Sanguigna, Moro and Tarocco.
- Clementines and Mandarin oranges are some of the most delicious types of citrus fruit! Wondering how to tell these tiny citruses apart? Clementines have a dark orange color, and contain a small amount of seeds. They are also harder to peel! Mandarins, on the other hand, are the easiest citrus fruits to peel. They are usually a duller shade of orange and contain no seeds at all.
- Did you know that in some tropical countries, they actually don’t consume yellow lemons? In fact, they consume green lemons. Wondering why that is? In tropical climates, the temperature tends to be very high at night. If it is too hot outside, the internal temperature of the growing lemons restricts chlorophyll from breaking down to turn the outer skin yellow!
- Have you ever made guacamole and watched it deteriorate into a brown color just 10 minutes later? That’s a drag! If this happens to you, it’s safe to assume we’ve found a flaw with your guacamole. Next time you make some, try adding lime juice! Limes contain ascorbic acid, which stops the oxidization of guacamole that turns it brown.
- Like a tart and tangy blast of flavor in the morning Why not start eating grapefruit? You’re probably wondering why a citrus is called a “grape,” aren’t you? They were named as such because they grow in small clusters on trees that resemble grapes on a vine. Did you know that if you freshly squeeze grapefruits to make juice, 98% of its vitamin C content will be retained for up to a week? Did you enjoy these citrus fruit facts?
Conclusion
Looking for some more facts about citrus fruit? Here’s a fun one. During the time of the plague in Europe, many people thought oranges were the only way to defend themselves against. People started carrying them wherever they went! People even started embedding cloves in them and putting them in their clothes in order to smell fresh. We hope you learned something from this blog! Thanks for reading these citrus fruit facts!