Fruit
Orange
NaranjaTaronjaCitrus × sinensis
Oranges don't ripen once picked: what you buy is what you get. So it pays to know how to choose them.
When
Around: Nov–May · At its best: Dec–Mar
Around: Oct–Jun · At its best: Dec–Mar
Around: May–Nov · At its best: Jun–Sept
Around here
The oranges we eat here come mainly from the Valencia region and the Terres de l'Ebre, in Baix Ebre and Montsià. Navels (Navelina, Washington Navel) come first and are best for eating; in spring come the Valencia Lates, juicier and better for juicing. The bitter orange of patios and street trees is a different species: no good raw, but it's the one for English marmalade.
At the market
- It should feel heavy for its size: the heavier, the juicier.
- Thin, smooth, firm skin. Thick, bumpy skins usually mean less juice.
- A bit of green on the skin is fine: it doesn't mean it's unripe inside.
- Avoid soft patches, mould around the stem end or wrinkled skin.
At home
- They keep a week out of the fridge, somewhere cool and not piled too high.
- In the fridge drawer they last two or three weeks; take them out a while before eating for more flavour.
- If one goes mouldy, remove it straight away: green mould spreads quickly to its neighbours.
- Juice is best freshly squeezed: within a few hours the taste changes.
If you have too much
- Marmalade: bitter oranges make the classic one; with sweet oranges, add a lemon so it sets.
- Candied peel: strips boiled three times, then simmered in syrup. Even better dipped in chocolate.
- Freeze the juice in ice-cube trays and the zest in a jar: it keeps for months.
- Dry the peel (without the white pith) in the sun or a low oven for stews, infusions or sponge cake.
In the kitchen
- In segments with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper: sounds odd, works.
- Remojón granadino: orange, desalted salt cod, spring onion, black olives and oil.
- Orange salad with fennel or escarole and a few olives.
- Duck or chicken à l'orange, with the juice reduced into the sauce.
- Orange cake made with the whole fruit blitzed.
What it brings
Per 100 g, raw.
- Energy
- 47 kcal
- Water
- 87% water
- Carbs
- 11.8 g
- Sugars
- 9.4 g
- Fibre
- 2.4 g
- Protein
- 0.9 g
Stands out for
- High in vitamin C53.2 mg · 67% of what you need in a day
- Source of folate30 µg · 15% of what you need in a day
Data from the USDA (FoodData Central). See the full table ↗ · How we decide what stands out
Goes with
- EndiveOct–MarBitter outside and almost sweet at the heart, which is yellow because the outer leaves keep the light off it. Cold weather makes it more tender.
- KiwiNov–AprIt comes from China, where it was called the Chinese gooseberry. New Zealand exporters renamed it after the brown, fuzzy bird.
- CalçotDec–AprAn onion made to grow twice: the bulb is replanted and earthed up until it sends out long white shoots. You eat them charred black outside, wearing a bib and standing up.
- ArtichokeNov–MayIt's a flower bud eaten before it opens. It also leaves a sweet aftertaste that makes water, or wine, taste different straight afterwards.