ORANGE

When a colour is named after a fruit it can only be a good one. We know that oranges originate from Asia. But the way the several types of citrus fruit easily crossed each other originated in multiple hybrids making it difficult to research it. Historically speaking, the absence of accurate description regarding fruit that was consumed does not make it any easier for biogeographers to research the origin and dispersion of citrus fruit ancestors. The Citrus genus has been cultivated for more than 4000 years in south-east Asia and the sweet variety of the orange that we love so much is believed to be a mixture of mandarin and pomelo (or Citrus Maxima). Some researchers say that the sweet orange must have first been cultivated in southern China and North India.

Etymologically, the word ‘orange’ originates from the Sanskrit word ‘Narangam’ meaning the fruit of the orange tree. Some reports also say that the Portuguese brought it to Europe in the 16th century. Hence, the orange that we currently eat has been baptised with our name in some countries like Turkey (portakal), Greece (portokali), and even in Romania (portocala). It spread from Europe to America and 40 to 50 centuries after being handled by man, the orange trees are the most cultivated fruit trees in the world. Oranges are currently cultivated in practically the whole world in tropical and subtropical regions but the best quality comes from the latter.

info per 100 ml