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The orange is one of the most common and popular fruit. It is well-liked because of its easy availability all year round, dense nutrition, and it tastes good.
Oranges are round citrus fruits ranging in diameter from about 2 to 3 inches, with finely texturized skins that are orange in color.
Its pulp is also orange in color and very succulent, surrounded by its skin which can vary in thickness depending on its variety.
There are oranges that are sweet, bitter and sour, so you'll need to know the variety you're buying. The sweet variety are usually more fragrant. They include Valencia, Navel and Jaffa oranges which are ideal for making juices.
In the orange family, there are also the Mandarin oranges (with loose skin), Clementine (loose skin and seedless), the tangerine (orange-red Mandarin), the Minneola (cross between tangerine and grapefruit), the blood orange that has dark burgundy colored flesh, kumquat, and a few other lesser known ones.
The Mandarin oranges are especially popular with the Chinese as the word "orange" in Chinese sounds like "gold" or "good luck". Come the Lunar New Year, the Chinese buy oranges by the boxes to be given away to express good wishes for the new year.
Nutritional Benefits
Oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C and flavonoids. One orange (130 grams) supplies nearly 100 percent of the recommended daily dietary intake of vitamin C.
When you eat a whole orange, it provides good dietary fiber. Leave in the albedo (the white matter under the peel) as much as possible as the albedo contains the highest amount of valuable bioflavonoids and other anti-cancer agents.
In addition, oranges are a good source of vitamin A, the B vitamins, amino acids, beta-carotene, pectin, potassium, folic acid, calcium, iodine, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, manganese, chlorine and iron.
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