Read The Health Benefits of Oranges
While it might be true that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” this famous adage could also be said for the orange. Nutrition-wise, the orange is one of the healthiest fruits you can eat. In addition to its high Vitamin C content, it is full of fiber, which helps promote digestive health and lowers the levels of bad cholesterol in the body.
Being nutritious is not only the reason why many people love eating the orange fruit. Many have described it as having the taste of sunshine. The smell is fragrant and delightfully citrusy; and, with each bite of an orange slice, you get to experience that sweet, juicy, tangy flavor that is so refreshing. Not surprisingly, only chocolate and vanilla surpass the orange as the world’s most popular flavors.
If you have yet to become an avid fan of the orange, perhaps these remarkable facts about the fruit can change your mind:
Brazil produces more oranges than any other country, harvesting almost 18 million tons of the fruit every year.
- A typical orange contains ten segments.
- A ripe orange that is not plucked from the tree can revert to a green color in a process called re-greening. This color transformation, however, will not affect the fruit’s taste.
- Oranges that are grown in different seasons and locations also vary in taste and smell. Even the position of the fruit in the tree affects the taste, as oranges that grow in the south side of the orange tree are generally sweeter than those that grow on the side facing north.
- One of the oldest orange trees found in the United States was among the 3 citrus plants brought to California from Brazil in 1873. Until now, the orange tree is still alive and bearing fruit.
- The “golden apples” that grew from a tree in the Garden of the Hesperides, as told in Greek mythology, are believed to have actually been oranges.
- The white blossoms of the orange tree are known to symbolize love. The flowers are often a feature in many weddings as a decoration for bridal bouquets, head wreaths and even wedding cakes.
- If you have a problem dealing with slugs in your home garden, you can make use of orange peel instead of chemically-laden pesticides. Scattering piles of orange peel in the garden will attract the slugs, making them easier to dispose.
- Toast and orange marmalade, a preserve made by boiling the juice and rind of oranges with water and sugar, is a breakfast pairing much-loved by the British.
- The navel orange, a popular orange variety, is so named because of the peculiar appendage found on the blossoming end of the fruit, which is shaped like a navel. A bigger navel usually means a sweeter fruit.
- Another peculiar but popular variety is the blood orange, which looks like a typical orange on the outside but has a crimson-colored or blood-hued flesh inside. Its taste is also distinctive, with hints of raspberry added to the citrus flavor of the orange.
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