Blood Orange Madness !!!

This most attractive yet slightly underused orange is actual a marvel in disguise.

Is it a orange, why is it red, is it even good for you ???

Let's join together and find out possibly all you may ever need to know about this seasonal beauty!!!

There are over 27 varieties of blood orange on the planet, but the most unusual variety is the traditional Organic Moro.

Although the Moro holds that deep coloured flesh the three most available varieties include the Sanguinello, Moro and Tarocco. The rest are hybrids of hybrids and fall into three categories which are light blood, common blood & deep blood (not very scientific this)

The citrus world is full of Hybrids in fact pretty much all varieties have been developed from an originating fruit such as a pomelo.

The colourful flesh occurs when the fruit is hanging around ripening in the warm days but hit by colder nightfall temperatures which activate the anthocyanin in the cells.

Anthocyanin what’s that?? This cheeky being is an antioxidant which starts to develop along the outskirts of the peel and then tracks down the segments and cells of the fruit while bursting the flesh into a colourful array.

Why are some blood oranges DEEP red, some just flecked and others host veins of blood colour in them we hear you ask – (We don’t really, but it’s a kind of question we would ask!!!)

Well it all depends on when the farmer decides to harvest the fruit from the tree, the nightfall temperatures during the growing season and the way the fruit has been stored all affect the colour of the flesh and overall taste.

The Moro variety is the newest orange to the grove as the original blood orange was first discovered in the early part of the 17th century as a mutation in the orange groves of Sicily.

Since this date, the blood orange was held back for royalty until some cheeky Sicilian decided to auction some fruits off and realised some serious wealth could be made - It wasn’t until the 19th century when they became more widely available.

They can now be found in most countries across the globe while in season demanding a higher price tag than a traditional orange.

The orange is one of few fruits that stop ripening once picked from the tree.

With a tart but sophisticated flavour, the blood orange can bring many uses to your January creations you must use them while you can as they won’t be here forever.