Heirloom Oranges

Florida oranges represent history, health and agriculture. Walking through the ‘heirloom orange grove’ which dates back to 1879… one can sense a magical  serenity.

It’s amazing how delicious, juicy and aromatic the oranges are.

Our heirloom orange grove contains the following:

• Satsuma
• Navel -(Regular, Yellow and Red)
• Ponkan
• Robinson
• Hamlin
• Pineapple Orange
• Murcot Honey
• Ambersweet
• Ruby Red Grapefruit
• Duncan Grapefruit
• Pink Grapefruit

SATSUMA:  Part of the mandarin orange family, which also includes tangerines and clementines, satsumas are one of the sweetest citrus varieties, with a tender texture. Their moderately thick skin peels off readily, and with easy-to-separate segments, they make convenient and healthful out-of-hand snacks.

NAVEL ORANGE:  A single mutation in 1820 in an orchard of sweet oranges planted at a monastery in Brazil yielded the Navel Orange, also known as the Washington, Riverside, or Bahie navel.

Navel oranges develop a “second orange” at the base of the original fruit, opposite the stem. From the outside, it looks similar to the human navel.

Because the mutation left the fruit seedless and, therefore, sterile, the only means available to cultivate more of this new variety is to graft cuttings onto other varieties of citrus tree.

NAVEL – RED (CARA CARA): A Cara Cara Orange is also called a Red Navel Orange. This citrus fruit variety has a dark orange-red interior fruit color, and is very sweet with generally a very low acid content.  It’s quite easy to understand why a Cara Cara Orange is considered to be one of the best eating oranges in the world.

On the outside, a Cara Cara orange has a skin color that is more yellow than orange, with a rich, red pulp inside.

PONKAN:  (‘Chinese Honey Orange’)– is a member of the tangerine family. It was originally introduced to the United States by Reverend Barrington of Melrose, Florida, about 1880. His original grove is still in production, and under the care of Marion Holder near Hawthorne in Putnam county.

Trees can be propagated by seed, as they breed true, or grafted onto other rootstocks, trifoliate orange being the most popular. The ponkan mandarin orange is an autumn fruit, with most production between September to December

ROBINSON:  The result of pollinating the ‘Clementine’ tangerine with the ‘Orlando’ tangelo, at the United States Department of Agriculture’s Horticultural Field Station, Orlando, Florida, was introduced into cultivation in 1960. It is essentially a tangerine, has 10 to 20 seeds.  A favorite commerical cultivar.

HAMLIN:  Commercial harvest season: October – January

Hamlin is the most widely grown early sweet orange in Florida and the tree among the most cold tolerant.  Its earliness makes much of its harvest possible before the onset of winter freezes in Florida.  The fruit is susceptible to splitting and creasing and will frequently drop heavily later in the season.

PINEAPPLE ORANGE:  An excellent juice or eating orange.  A midseason fruit, medium to large size, round to oval with seeds.  The Pineapple orange is acclaimed fro its juicy sweetness.

The tree is the least cold hardy of the orange varieties. It is subject to alternate bearing and during seasons of heavy crops is very susceptible to freezes. Pineapple is also susceptible to citrus blight, showing rapid collapse particularly under stress of a heavy crop. It is very susceptible to preharvest fruit drop during heavy crop years. The peel is subject to creasing and to another stress-related condition known as Pineapple ‘pitting’. While it produces an excellent quality juice favored by processors, the variety is no longer widely planted for many of the above mentioned reasons.

Despite it all.. Good Juice Orange!

MURCOTT HONEY: This little tangerine’s distinctive flavor is excellent simply as a refreshing snack.  If the juice is too intensely sweet, mix with regular orange juice to tame its exceptionally sweet personality. Quite perishable, Murcotts keep only a day or two at room temperature and up to one week refrigerated.

Resources say this tangerine is an old tangor variety developed in Florida by a gentleman by the name of W.T. Swingle. It was later propagated by two growers, Charles Murcott Smith and J. Ward Smith. A member of the mandarin family it is a cross between a tangerine and an orange;Murcott tangerines grow in the United States, they especially love the Florida climate.

AMBERSWEET:  Released in 1989, has been classified as an orange for fresh fruit purposes. The fruit usually attain minimum fresh fruit standards by mid October. It can be peeled more easily than other oranges. The fruit resemble those of navel orange in size and appearance more than other types and have a good orange rind and juice color at maturity. The juice has a dark orange color at maturity. The trees are moderately cold hardy and fruit can usually be harvested prior to damaging freezes. For identification purposes: the peel of small developing Ambersweet fruit has a pubescent (fuzzy) appearance, a characteristic which disappears as fruit matures.

RUBY RED GRAPEFRUIT:  They tend to be sweeter than white grapefruits.

DUNCAN GRAPEFRUIT:  Duncans are the original grapefruit, with a white pulpy flesh and incredible flavor. This large fruit, only grown in a handful of groves, is super-sweet and dripping with juice.  (We’re lucky to have this one in our grove!!)

PINK GRAPEFRUIT: Selection: will have smooth, firm and shiny skin. Has a rich yellow coloring and a slight rose colored blush to the skin, while others will be yellow. Some varieties will “re-green” if they remain on the tree long enough. This means that color does not indicate ripeness, nor does it affect the flavor or quality of the fruit.

Tip:  How to pick an orange  – Wrap one hand around the desired orange so it sits in your palm and your fingers spread out around it.  In one motion, twist the orange about 90 degrees and tug firmly, but not too hard. The fruit should separate from the stem without ripping the skin.