Seville Orange In My Garden

Bitter orange, Sour Orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the citrus tree Citrus × aurantium and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world.[3] It is probably a cross between the pomelo, Citrus maxima, and the mandarin orange, Citrus reticulata.

 

Citrus × aurantium

Citrus aurantium.jpg

Scientific classification edit

Kingdom:

Plantae

Clade:

Tracheophytes

Clade:

Angiosperms

Clade:

Eudicots

Clade:

Rosids

Order:

Sapindales

Family:

Rutaceae

Genus:

Citrus

Species:

C. × aurantium

Binomial name

Citrus × aurantium

L., 1753[1]

Synonyms[2]

List

Aurantium × acre Mill.

Aurantium × bigarella Poit. & Turpin

Aurantium × corniculatum Mill.

Aurantium × corniculatum Poit. & Turpin

Aurantium × coronatum Poit. & Turpin

Aurantium × distortum Mill.

Aurantium × humile Mill.

Aurantium × myrtifolium Descourt.

Aurantium × orientale Mill.

Aurantium × silvestre Pritz.

Aurantium × sinense (L.) Mill.

Aurantium × variegatum Barb.Rodr.

Aurantium × vulgare (Risso) M. Gómez

Citrus bigaradia Risso & Poit.

Citrus humilis (Mill.) Poir.

Citrus × amara Link

Citrus × aurata Risso

Citrus × benikoji Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × bigaradia Loisel.

Citrus × calot Lag.

Citrus × canaliculata Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × changshan-huyou Y.B.Chang

Citrus × communis Poit. & Turpin

Citrus × dulcimedulla Pritz.

Citrus × dulcis Pers.

Citrus × florida Salisb.

Citrus × funadoko Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × fusca Lour.

Citrus × glaberrima Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × humilis (Mill.) Poir.

Citrus × intermedia Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × iwaikan Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × iyo Yu.Tanaka nom. inval.

Citrus × karna Raf.

Citrus × keraji Yu.Tanaka nom. inval.

Citrus × kotokan Hayata

Citrus × medioglobosa Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × mitsuharu Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × myrtifolia (Ker Gawl.) Raf.

Citrus × natsudaidai (Yu.Tanaka) Hayata

Citrus × omikanto Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × pseudogulgul Shirai

Citrus × reshni (Engl.) Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × rokugatsu Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × rumphii Risso

Citrus × sinograndis Yu.Tanaka nom. inval.

Citrus × subcompressa (Tanaka) Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × sulcata Yu.Tanaka nom. inval.

Citrus × taiwanica Yu.Tanaka & Shimada

Citrus × tangelo J.W.Ingram & H.E.Moore

Citrus × tengu Yu.Tanaka nom. inval.

Citrus × tosa-asahi Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × truncata Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × vulgaris Risso

Citrus × yatsushiro Yu.Tanaka

Citrus × yuge-hyokan Yu.Tanaka

History

Edit

Wild trees are found near small streams in generally secluded and wooded parts of Florida and the Bahamas after it was introduced to the area from Spain,[3] where it had been introduced and cultivated heavily beginning in the 10th century by the Moors.[4][5]

 

Identification

Edit

Citrus × aurantium can be identified through its orange fruit with a distinctly bitter or sour taste. The tree has alternate simple leaves and thorns on its petiole.

 

Usage

Edit

Many varieties of bitter orange are used for their essential oil, and are found in perfume, used as a flavoring or as a solvent, and also for consumption. The Seville orange variety is used in the production of marmalade and also used to make French bigarade.[6]

 

Bitter orange is also employed in herbal medicine as a stimulant and appetite suppressant, due to its active ingredient, synephrine.[7][8] Bitter orange supplements have been linked to a number of serious side effects and deaths, and consumer groups advocate that people avoid using the fruit medically.[9][10] Whether bitter orange affects medical conditions of heart and cardiovascular organs, by itself or in formulae with other substances, is inconclusive.[11] Standard reference materials are released concerning the properties in bitter orange by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for ground fruit, extract, and solid oral dosage form, along with those packaged together into one item.[12][13]

 

Varieties

Edit

See also: Citrus taxonomy § Oranges

Citrus × aurantium subsp. amara is a spiny evergreen tree native to southern Vietnam, and widely cultivated. It is used as grafting stock for citrus trees, in marmalade, and in liqueur such as triple sec, Grand Marnier, and Curaçao. It is also cultivated for the essential oil expressed from the fruit, and for neroli oil and orange flower water, which are distilled from the flowers.

Citrus × aurantium var. myrtifolia is sometimes considered a separate species, Citrus myrtifolia, the myrtle-leaved orange. The 'Chinotto' cultivar is used to make the Italian soda beverage also called Chinotto.[14]

Citrus × aurantium var. daidai, daidai, is used in Chinese medicine and Japanese New Year celebrations. The aromatic flowers are added to tea.[3]

Citrus × aurantium subsp. currassuviencis, laraha, grows on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. The dried peels are used in the creation of Curaçao liqueur.

Related species

Edit

Citrus bergamia, the Bergamot orange, is probably a bitter orange and limetta hybrid; it is cultivated in Italy for the production of bergamot oil, a component of many brands of perfume and tea, especially Earl Grey tea.[15]

Cooking

Edit

While the raw pulp is not edible,[16] bitter orange is widely used in cooking.

 

 

English marmalade is traditionally homemade in the winter

The Seville orange (the usual name in this context) is prized for making British orange marmalade, being higher in pectin than the sweet orange, and therefore giving a better set and a higher yield. Once a year, oranges of this variety are collected from trees in Seville and shipped to Britain to be used in marmalade.[17] However, the fruit is rarely consumed locally in Andalusia.[18] This reflects the historic Atlantic trading relationship with Portugal and Spain; the earliest recipe for 'marmelat of oranges' dates from 1677.[19][page needed]

 

Bitter orange—bigarade—was used in all early recipes for duck à l'orange, originally called canard à la bigarade.[20]

 

 

The bitter orange, whole and sectioned

It is also used in compotes and for orange-flavored liqueurs. The peel can be used in the production of bitters. The unripe fruit, called narthangai, is commonly used in Southern Indian cuisine, especially in Tamil cuisine. It is pickled by cutting it into spirals or small wedges and stuffing it with salt. The pickle is usually consumed with yoghurt rice called thayir sadam. The fresh fruit is also used frequently in pachadis.

 

The Belgian Witbier (white beer) is often spiced with the peel of the bitter orange.

 

In Finland and Sweden, bitter orange peel is used in dried, ground form (called pomeranssi in Finnish, pomerans in Swedish) in gingerbread (pepparkakor), some Christmas bread, and mämmi. In Denmark, the candied peel (Danish pomeransskal) is used in various desserts and cakes like Christmas Cake (julekage) and Brown Cake (brunekager). It is also used in the Nordic glögi.

 

In Greece and Cyprus, the nerántzi or κιτρομηλο, respectively, is one of the most prized fruits used for spoon sweets, and the C. aurantium tree (nerantziá or kitromiliá) is a popular ornamental tree. In Albania as well, nerënxa or portokalli i hidhur is used commonly in spoon sweets.

 

In Malta, bitter oranges are known as larinġ tal-bakkaljaw, and are used for marmalade and as root-stock for other citrus trees. [21][22] The Maltese soft drink Kinnie is also made from bitter oranges.

 

In Turkey, juice of the ripe fruits can be used as salad dressing, especially in Çukurova region. However, in Iraqi cuisine, a bitter orange or raranj in Iraqi is used to complement dishes such as charred fish (samak or simach maskouf, tomato stew morgat tamata, qeema, a dish that has the same ingredients as an Iraqi tomato stew with the addition of minced meat, boiled chickpeas lablabi, salads, as a dressing, and on essentially any dish one might desire to accompany bitter orange. Iraqis also consume it as a citrus fruit or juice it to make bitter orange juice 'aseer raranj. Throughout Iran (where the fruit is commonly known as narenj), the juice is popularly used as a salad dressing, souring agent in stews and pickles or as a marinade. The blossoms are collected fresh to make a prized sweet-smelling aromatic jam (bitter orange blossom jam, morabba bahar-narenj), or added to brewing tea.

 

In the Americas, the juice from the ripe fruit is used as a marinade for meat in Nicaraguan, Cuban, Dominican, and Haitian cooking, as it is in Peruvian ceviche. In Yucatán (Mexico), it is a main ingredient of the cochinita pibil. In Cuba, a traditional Christmas time dessert is made with the peel of the bitter orange cooked in syrup and eaten with cheese and buñuelos. In Suriname, its juice is also used in the well-known dish pom.

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