It can be said without hesitation: The orange is the most important citrus fruit in the world. It is, in fact, the most cultivated citrus fruit in the world – and rightly so! Whether sweet, sour or bitter, small or large, pressed into fresh orange juice, dried as a garnish or for a delicious orange tea, or even as a base for numerous liqueurs: the variations are countless today. However you want your orange, you can get it.

50 Shades of Oranges

Orange, clementine, mandarin, sweet orange, tangerine... all the same? Not quite. The orange originated in China through the cross-breeding of mandarin and pomelo. Mandarins and pomelos are like Adam and Eve among citrus fruits – oranges, grapefruits, pomelos, clementines, and tangerines can all be traced back to them as hybrids. Although the bergamot visually resembles a lime, it is also a hybrid of the bitter orange.

Not all oranges are created equal: Sweet orange vs. bitter orange

Oranges can be broadly divided into sweet oranges and bitter oranges. They found their way to Europe at very different times: the bitter orange, also known as Seville orange, arrived in Italy as early as the 11th century, while the sweet orange didn't arrive until the 15th century. In Europe, Spain, Portugal, and Italy are known as orange hotspots, but today most oranges found on other continents come from Brazil, India, and China.

As their names suggest, sweet oranges are sweet and bitter oranges, also called Seville oranges, are bitter. Both types have many different varieties with diverse characteristics and flavors. Blonde oranges, for example, belong to the sweet orange category – they are the most common type we encounter in everyday life. Their color varies between yellow and deep orange, they are very juicy, and perfect for fresh snacking or squeezing into a delicious juice. Depending on the specific orange variety, the taste can be aromatically sweet or tart. In ODE Ruby Wood, we have brought together a variety from both worlds.

A journey into the variety of sweet oranges

An orange could hardly have a more beautiful origin than the "Valley of Oranges." From there comes the Navelina Orange, named after its distinctive protuberance, the so-called navel. It is quite acidic

and releases bitter notes during processing, for example by rolling it on a board. If harvested very late, it loses its bitter characteristic and becomes beguilingly sweet – then it is also called Navel Powell.

The Lane Late Orange is a cross between the Navelina Orange, originating from Australia. It has retained the typical Navelina acidity but is simultaneously sweet due to being harvested relatively late.

The Valencia orange from Valencia in Spain is not only about twice as large as many oranges but also twice as sweet and twice as juicy. It is not for nothing that it is known as the queen of juice oranges. Among others, the Midknight orange, primarily grown in South Africa, was crossbred from it. A single fruit is said to cover a whole 117% of the daily requirement of vitamin C!

Another common type of sweet orange is the blood orange, named after its intense red color, primarily cultivated around Mount Etna in Sicily.

The Seville orange: “Apple of Gold”

Pomanum aurantium – this is the Latin term for the Seville orange, the bitter orange. Translated, it means "apple of gold." And it certainly lives up to its promise.

The most famous variety is called Chinotto, which means "little Chinese," referring to its origin in China. You'll rarely find it in supermarkets today, as it is so intensely bitter on its own that it's barely edible. Today, we know that the bitter orange has its moment to shine when used in moderation and alongside sweet components – as an ingredient, for example, in lemonades, in liqueurs and spirits, and in ODE Ruby Wood.

What the orange has to offer: blossoms, peel, pulp

You really don't need to waste a single bit of an orange: everything on it can be eaten. Use it! Orange blossoms for tartness, pulp for sweetness, orange peel for bitterness. In any case: a real vitamin C bomb!

You can create creative garnishes for your next ODE drink from orange peels: simply cut thin strips of orange peel with a vegetable peeler (or if you have a fancy zester, use that) and use them to decorate your drink. If you're a bit more skilled with your hands, you can peel all the way around the orange, wrap the spiral zest around a wooden stick, and place it on the glass. This will make any drink Instagram-worthy!

In addition to their comforting, warm fragrance, orange blossoms have a slightly calming effect: you can conjure up a wonderful tea from them or why not add a few to the tub for your next bath?

Green is the new Orange: Why green oranges are not unripe

Green means unripe... or does it? Who hasn't stood in the supermarket and picked out the pack with the orangest oranges? In fact, you don't need to – because the color of the peel says nothing about the ripeness of the fruit. When something is green, and especially when fruit is green, we tend to label it as unripe. The fruit industry knows this. If the orange peel is very intensely orange, it is usually the result of an artificial process: the oranges are then treated with a special gas that destroys the chlorophyll, i.e., the green color particles in the peel. So give oranges with partially green peels a chance too: That's nature!

-----

Enjoyment lies in nature. ODE creates complex aperitifs from German winery wine and the best botanicals in the world. Everything produced in Berlin, all natural, all less sweet, but with more flavor. No compromises, because Good Times deserve Good Taste.