Choosing citrus fruits in the store, the average customer sometimes does not even know what kind of oranges he is holding in his hands. Knowing the quality characteristics of the variety, you can choose fruits in accordance with your taste.
Oranges delivered from Morocco, Spain, Brazil, Vietnam and Turkey are most often presented on store shelves in Russia. Conventionally, all these varieties of oranges can be divided into sour and sweet.
The main varieties of oranges entering Russia
The Washington Neville orange variety is grown in Brazil and Turkey. Despite the name, these fruits have nothing to do with the United States. The variety has a thick skin and a sweet and sour taste. The fruits are quite juicy, the usual orange color. The shape of the fruit is round, decorated with a “navel” in the lower part. The advantages of the variety are long-term storage, seedlessness and easy cleaning.
Valencia is a variety of oranges originally grown in Spain. The unpretentiousness of the plant made it possible to cultivate it in other countries. The orange tree fruit of this variety has a thin skin and a slightly flattened rounded shape. A characteristic feature of the variety is the tiny red dots that adorn the outer surface of the fruit and its pulp. Oranges have a fairly pronounced sweet taste. The seeds are rare in fruits, the inner membranes are thick and hard.
Fruits of the “Royal Orange” and “Bu” varieties are exported from Vietnam to Russia. "Royal Orange" is practically indistinguishable from the standard types. But "Bu" is strikingly distinguished by its rich orange color and oval shape of the fruit.
Sicilian oranges
Citrus fruits from Sicily appeared in Russia relatively recently. The famous "korolki" look especially original, the pulp of which is distinguished by a bright palette. These can be fruits of a rich red or burgundy color, sometimes turning into almost black with crimson veins. The orange peel has a purple hue. Experts note the pronounced sweet and sour taste of the fruit, slightly reminiscent of raspberries.
The orange color of the orange is due to the presence of a large amount of carotene. Unlike most varieties, the Sicilian "kinglet" contains the pigment anthocyanin, which gives the fruit a red hue. Why Sicilian oranges are enriched with this pigment is unknown. The cultivation of this variety in other countries did not lead to the creation of a culture of red.
Knowing how to choose oranges, focusing on the characteristic features of the variety, you can purchase fruits in accordance with personal preferences.
