A navel orange has a partially formed undeveloped fruit like indent, located at the blossom end of the fruit. From the outside, the blossom end is reminiscent of a human navel, leading to the common name of "navel orange." These oranges are among the most common and popular of orange varieties, considered the world’s finest orange for eating.

In America the navel orange has been known as a Washington, Riverside, or Bahia Navel Orange. Citrus Sinensis is the Latin name. This orange variety is the result of a single mutation which occurred on a plantation in Brazil in 1820. The mutation led to the formation of a conjoined twin enclosed within the rind of a seedless orange, and it proved to be a hit, so people began cultivating it in other regions. The first American location of cultivation was Riverside, California, explaining the alternate name of "Riverside Orange". Because the navel orange is seedless, it can only be propagated through cuttings. Technically, every navel orange comes from the same orange tree; the Brazilian orange which generated a spontaneous mutation hundreds of years ago. We take cuttings from the navel orange trees and graft them onto fresh stock periodically to ensure that the orchards stay healthy. The flesh of a navel orange is sweet and naturally very juicy it can be eaten out of hand, juiced, used in fruit salads, or turned into jams and preserves, depending on personal taste. Fresh navel oranges are available from??????

Orange Trivia

Sour varieties of oranges have been cultivated since well before the Middle Ages, the sweet ones appearing only in the 15th Century. From Southern Asia, the orange spread to Syria, Persia, Italy, Spain and Portugal, and then on a voyage of Columbus, to the West Indies. Spanish explorers took it to Florida and Spanish missionaries took it to California. The word "orange" stems from Arabic and Persian terms for the fruit.

Orange , common name for citrus fruit of several trees. Different varieties include the sweet orange, the sour, or Seville orange, and the mandarin orange, or tangerine, all rich in vitamin C. The fruit is technically a hesperidia, a kind of berry. It consists of several easily separated carpel's, or sections, each containing several seeds and many juice cells covered by a leathery exocarp, or skin, containing numerous oil glands.

Orange trees are evergreens, seldom exceeding 9 m (30 ft) in height. The leaves are oval and glossy and the flowers are white and fragrant.

Three essential oils are obtained from oranges: oil of orange, obtained from the rind of the fruit and used principally as a flavoring agent; oil of petigrain, obtained from the leaves and twigs and used in perfumery; and oil of neroli, obtained from the blossoms and used in flavorings and perfumes.

Oranges are of great commercial importance and are cultivated in warm regions, although they are native to south-eastern Asia.

Principal orange growing areas outside Europe and China include the southern United States, Israel, Brazil and South Africa. The sweet oranges are the most commonly grown. They include the common orange, the navel orange, and the blood orange.

The common orange, which includes the Valencia orange, is cultivated and sold as fresh fruit and is also the source of most orange juice.

The navel orange is seedless, less juicy than the common orange, and has a small second fruit growing at one end of the fruit. The skin and fruit of blood oranges range from pink to red, but they are similar in most other ways to common oranges.

The sour, or Seville, orange has a bitter taste and is rarely eaten fresh. It is cultivated to a limited extent for marmalade and to provide rootstock for less vigorous strains.

It was introduced to the Mediterranean region by the Arabs about the 10th century, and the sweet orange was introduced by Genoese traders in the 15th century
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The bergamot orange is primarily grown as a source of oils for cosmetics and flavoring.

Mandarin oranges or tangerines, belong to the same genus as oranges but are not really oranges. They are smaller in size, often slightly flattened in shape, and have easily peeled skin. The mandarin is the parent of a number of hybrids, such as the Clementine.

About 20 per cent of the total crop of oranges is sold as whole fruit; the remainder is used in preparing orange juice, extracts, and preserves. Oranges belong to the genus Citrus, of the family Rutaceae.

The sweet orange is classified as Citrus sinensis; the sour, or Seville, orange as Citrus aurantium; the bergamot orange as Citrus bergamia; and the mandarin orange, or tangerine, as Citrus reticulata.

Eureka Lemons are available from February through October, with peak supplies in May, June and July. Bright yellow, tart and tangy, lemons are well placed as a versatile element of today's healthy diets.

The two major varieties of lemons are the Lisbon and the Eureka; they are so similar that even the experts can't always tell them apart, but we don’t need to tell them apart as we grow only Eureka lemons.
A lemon, named after Frank N. Meyer, who first discovered it in 1908 which is a cross between a lemon and possibly an orange or a mandarin, thin-skinned and slightly less acidic than the Lisbon and Eureka. Meyer lemons require more care when shipping and are not found on a commercial basis in South Africa.

Lemon Tips

• A bowl of fresh lemons will add fragrance and color to a room for days.
• Add a slice or two of fresh lemon to a glass of water. It has visual appeal and makes the water taste and smell better.
• If you are reducing your sodium or fat intake, try squeezing a wedge of fresh lemon on salads, steamed vegetables, soups and stews. You'll never miss the salt or butter!
• Roll a room temperature lemon on the counter a few times to maximize the amount of juice.
• Add the grated zest of fresh lemon to recipes for added intensity in cakes and cookies.