Florida Oranges: From Grove to Table

It is a common practice in the produce industry today to pick fruits and vegetables before they are ripe, so that they ripen on the way to market and are ready to eat as soon as you, the consumer, buy them. While this may be a fine and appropriate practice for say, bananas, Florida oranges are another beast altogether. The reason Florida oranges are different is because they do not ripen once taken off of their vines. Once you remove Florida oranges from the vine, they will taste the same until they begin to decay. So if they are not yet sweet when picked, then your Florida oranges will not taste very juicy or sweet once they get to your local market.

In order to make sure this never happens and to never tarnish the good reputation of Florida oranges, they go through a stringent process to make sure that they will be the best. The first step in th is long process is to make a group of people pick a few Florida oranges off the vines, a few from each section. Each of these Florida oranges becomes representative of all the other oranges growing in that area. They are sliced and tested and tasted.

You may wonder what these freshly picked Florida oranges are being tested for. They are tested for two things: brix content and acid. As you know, Florida oranges have a reputation for being sweet, and the brix content is the measure of how sweet an orange is. It measures the amount of soluble sugar in an orange, which determines how much sweetness is in it. The acid content makes sure that the oranges are acidic, a main component of citrus fruits. The combination of acid and brix is of course what gives Florida oranges their unique taste. In order for Florida oranges to become orange juice, it must meet at least the minimum standards of brix and acid. If it does not, then it can not legally called Florida orange juice.

If the oranges from the sample picking are determined to be ready, they are then hand picked from the groves using ladders. This is a long and laborious process, but it is still the way things are done. In fact, approximately 96% of all Florida oranges are picked using this process.

After picking, Florida oranges are sent to a processing plant where they are peeled and juiced. The leftovers are all used for things like seeds and cattle feed. Peels can be used to make orange essences or essential oils. Some of these essences and oils may be added to Florida orange juice in order to add more flavor, though this is not usually the case with many manufacturers.

So next time you break into a carton of Florida orange juice, you can be assured it went through a stringent process to get to your table.

Taste the Sunshine with Hale Groves

At Hale Groves, we believe the best gifts come from the land, not a factory. For generations, our fruit has been grown slowly under the Florida sun, picked at its peak, and delivered fresh to your door. From sweet Navel Oranges to rare Honeybells, every gift shares the simple joy of real flavor—perfect for holidays, milestones, or everyday moments worth celebrating.

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