Robertson Navel Washington Navel
FoodFood InformationFruitCitrus Fruits
The United States is blessed with the world's finest oranges. They dateback to when Florida and California belonged to Spain and orange trees wereplanted alongside numerous Spanish missions.
Since we grow oranges on both coasts, our fruit is available twelve monthsof the year. Once in a while we import Jaffa, or Shamouti, oranges fromIsrael; these are similar to our California Valencias. On rarer occasionswe import oranges from Spain and North Africa. Imported oranges are buta drop in the bucket, with native supplies more than adequate to satisfyour own demand and maintain us as a major exporter.
Due to differences in soil and climate, there are differences in the color,texture, and juice content of California and Florida oranges. Even whenboth areas grow an identical variety, the end product is not the same. Floridaoranges are thinner-skinned and have more juice than the ones grown in California,but they are more difficult to peel and segment. As a rule, the Floridaorange is better for squeezing and the California orange is better for tableuse. Much of the Florida crop is used to make frozen concentrate or soldas fresh orange juice in paperboard containers and bottles. The Californiaoranges aren't quite as juicy and are not nearly as thin-skinned as theFlorida oranges. Both the skin and the flesh of the California oranges area deeper orange in color. All the California oranges and most of the Floridaoranges are seedless, but one important Florida variety, the Pineapple orange,has lots of seeds.
Both California and Florida have two major crops of oranges each year. Theearly crop from Florida has two varieties, the Hamlins and the Pineappleoranges. The late Florida crop also has two varieties-the Valencias andthe Pope Summers. The early California crop is of the Valencia variety andthe late crop is known as the navel orange. Areas of Arizona that borderCalifornia produce some oranges, and Texas, a major producer of grapefruit,grows a limited amount of oranges.
The first Florida orange to come to market arrives in October and is calledthe Hamlin. This is our only variety that doesn't bat a thousand.The Hamlins look like superb oranges-they are thin-skinned, seedless, andheavy in weight, and they have good color. However, they are full of pulp.They are pretty good when eaten as a table fruit, but they aren't very juicywhen squeezed. What juice they do yield is very pale and watery and lacksflavor.
About four weeks after the arrival of the Hamlins, the Florida Pineappleoranges come to market. They aren't quite as thin-skinned as the Hamlins,but are just bursting with juice and flavor. This is one of our finest juiceoranges. If they have one fault, it is that they have seeds galore. Thisvariety is not grown in California.
During most of the month of November the look-alike Hamlins and Pineapplesare both in the market. The Hamlin is a loser and the Pineapple is a winner.How can you tell them apart? You can't unless you cut into the orange. Ifit is seedless, it's a Hamlin and won't be very juicy. If it has seeds,it is a Pineapple and will have lots of juice.
The Pineapple oranges stay in season until mid-February. Late in Januarythe first shipments of the Florida Valencias arrive. While the FloridaValencia is a superb juice orange, these first arrivals aren't quitemature and therefore not as sweet as the Pineapple oranges already in themarket, nor are they as sweet as the Valencias will be later on in the season.The trick is to buy the Pineapple oranges as long as they are available.How can you tell these two look-alike varieties apart? Again, you have tocut open the orange. If it has seeds, it's a Pineapple; if it is seedless,it's a Valencia. However, even the earliest-arriving Valencia is a betterorange than the Hamlin. The Florida Valencia at full maturity is our finestjuice orange.
The Florida Valencias are joined in July by a later-blooming cousin calledthe Pope Summer. These Florida oranges are available until mid-August.In September and October the only orange in market for either juice or tableuse is the California Valencia.
The California Valencias arrive late in May and are in the marketuntil December. The California navel oranges make their annual debutin November and are in season until June. Note that the California seasons,like the Florida seasons, overlap. The trick to getting the sweetest andbest textured California oranges is to buy the variety that has been inthe market for several months, not the one that is just coming into season.For example, in May and June the California navels are superior to the newlyarriving Valencias. However, in November it is the Valencias that are sweeterand juicier; the navels are not quite ready at that time.
The same pattern should be followed when purchasing Florida oranges: Alwayspurchase the ones that have been on the market for the longest period oftime.
Early in November and most of December, along with the California naveloranges, there is a limited supply of Florida navels in market. Just asthe California grapefruit aren't nearly as good as those grown in Florida,the Florida navels aren't nearly as good as the ones produced in California.Florida navels have a light skin color and a light-colored flesh. They arethin-skinned and difficult to peel and segment. The flavor and texture isn'tas good as that of a California navel.
Having covered the twelve-month cycle and the wisdom of purchasing the moremature variety when two crops overlap, here are some tips on how to identifytop quality:
When shopping for oranges or any other citrus fruit, the hallmarks of qualityare the thinness of the skin and the weight of the fruit in relation toits size. The color and the size are not clues to quality. The thinnest-skinnedfruit will be heavy in weight and have more juice. Since the smaller- andmedium-sized fruit are usually thinner-skinned and lower in cost, don'tpurchase oversized fruit.
WHEN TO BUY: Available year-round
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Firm, colorful, thin-shinned fruit that is heavy in relationto size
HOW TO STORE: No refrigeration required if used within a week or two
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