Oranges Essay, Research Paper

ORANGES

jack anderews

bio 20, period 2

april16,2000

ORANGE

The orange falls into the “citrus” category of fruits. It can be made into juice, which is familiarly called “orange juice”. Orange juice is an essential part of the Canadian breakfast, that we eat every morning. Despite orange juice, oranges have many other uses. In this essay I will tell you about the varieties of oranges, its classification, uses, and other facts about oranges that I have learned.

The orange, one of the oldest cultivated fruits known to man, have been grown for more than 4,000 years. They probably originated in the part of Asia that contains India and China. Oranges are known for their delicious juice and vitamin C content. They also contain a source of potassium and folic acid.

The U.S is the second largest orange – producing country. They produce 18 billion pounds of oranges each year. 70% of them are grown in Florida, California about 20%, and Arizona and Texas take up the rest. Most of the oranges produced are made into orange juice. The rest are used for soft drinks, baking goods, candy, etc.

Not all oranges are orange. They range from pink, orange, dark red, orange to yellow in color. There are many different varieties of oranges.

The sweet orange is the most popular kind of orange; this is the one most raised around the world. There are four types of sweet oranges: common oranges, navel oranges, blood oranges and acidless oranges.

Common or round oranges are mostly sold as produce and made into juice. Juice from the Valencia orange makes the best juice. This is the most popular orange around the world today.

Blood oranges have very unusual color they range from pink to red. Maybe this is where it gets its name. Other than color, they are similar to common oranges. They become red in cool, overnight temperatures. These are mostly raised in Mediterranean countries, not very popular anywhere else in the world.

Acidless oranges aren’t very popular because of their bland flavor, caused by a low level of acid. They are only vaguely popular in Brazil.

Navel oranges, mostly grown in California, “have a small secondary fruit growing at one end of the main fruit.” (World book encyclopedia) they have a good flavor, but produce little juice.

Another type of orange is sour, or bitter oranges, which are usually not even freshly eaten, like common oranges because of a bitter taste. They are mostly grown in Europe, and used for making marmalade. The peels are turned into oil, and used for perfume.

Mandarins are the ones that usually come at Christmas (in Canada), and are generally eaten fresh. They actually aren’t oranges, just referred to oranges because of their similar appearance to common oranges.

Oranges are part of the rutaceae family. The species of the different kind of oranges are: sweet oranges are citrus sinensis; sour oranges are citrus aurantium; and mandarins are citrus reticulata.

-Greenwood, jillian (1990) plants for people. Oxford univercity. Page 77

-brintall, bery (1986,1995) mcraw hill, page 115

-wardowski,wilfred f , world book encyclopedia ( 1997)

pages 814 – 817