Navel oranges are some of the most popular oranges in the world because of their sweetness and long growing season, but do you know how navel oranges came by their name? Most people don’t realize that the orange was named after the human navel because on the outside of the fruit there is an indentation that looks like a human navel, or bellybutton. Navel oranges are actually hybrids that were the result of crossing a tangelo and a mandarin orange. Because the fruit came from a cross pollination experiment it is a sterile fruit and cannot reproduce on its own.…
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What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Is it the gathering of friends and family members from near and far? Is it the sense of optimism and gratitude that the end of each year inevitably brings? Or does your favorite holiday tradition involves the decorations that turn the whole world bright and festive? Maybe it’s the food? The food, drink, and desserts are a giant part of most holiday celebrations, with people all over the world following their own traditions about what’s served and how long each celebration continues. However you enjoy the holiday you have probably developed some unique family traditions…
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Hale’s Indian River Groves in October (con’t from Oct 2010 e-Newsletter)… The summer breezes from the Gulf Stream, just off the coast, help temper Florida’s heat throughout the protected Indian River growing region, on Florida’s southeast coast. The breezes cool the fruit, but the swaying of the tree sometimes cause minor external blemishes (wind scarring) from the fruit rubbing up against other fruit and branches. Ronnie tells us that fortunately it hasn’t been an extremely windy season, meaning the citrus this season has a very clean appearance. The photo in this newsletter of Hale’s Navels was taken recently on an…
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What’s the best place in your home to put your new fruit basket? Should you put it in the foyer? What about the kitchen? Can assorted fruit gift baskets serve as centerpieces? These might seem like simplistic questions, and probably no one should anguish over a right decision to any of them. But if you’ve received a fruit basket as a gift or just bought one as a present to yourself, you owe it to yourself and to your family to make the most if it within your home. In the Kitchen If your home kitchen has a central island,…
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In the wide world of fruit, Florida oranges stand alone as the juiciest and sweetest tasting varieties to be had. Most folks know when they’re buying a Florida orange, either as a piece of fruit or as juice, that they’re going to get a great source of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Of course, we’re really buying Florida oranges for the taste. Although many people have their favorites, there is nothing wrong with opening up the selection process and trying all the varieties of Florida oranges available on the market today. Navels The Navel orange is probably the most common variety…
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Each winter, Florida orange growers hold their breath. They brace themselves for possible freezing weather that could either completely or partially ruin their crop – or, like magic, turn it into a harvest of sweeter-than-normal citrus enviable to the rest of the world’s orange growers. In orange production, Florida orange growers rank Number 1 in the United States and Number 2 in the entire world, trailing only behind Brazil. And although oranges and other citrus also grow in Texas, Arizona and California, it’s the subtropical climate unique to Florida that can literally make or break any year’s harvest of the…
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When you think about Florida what pops into your mind? Disney World, hurricanes, retired New Yorkers, Miami Vice or sun kissed Florida oranges. With the possible exception of Disney World, the oranges probably were first on your list and with good reason. Disney has spent a fortune promoting Disney World. We’ve all seen the “winners” commercials haven’t we? “Team Sweden you’ve just won the Olympic Gold Medal for women’s curling. What are you going to do now?” “We’re gonna pack up our stones and go to Disney World!” Sure you are. Florida orange growers don’t stoop to such crass appeal…
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While most of us are content to get our dose of oranges from a waxed cardboard container that we pick up at the grocery, there are others who prefer a more hands on approach. Actually there are two distinct groups here but they both share a love of oranges and also have some time on their hands. That’s right, I’m talking about the people who love to juice their own oranges and the people who just get juiced on their own oranges. Now the orange squeezers we all know about but who is this second group? Well they are the…
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According to the experts, there are over six hundred distinct varieties of oranges on earth. There are also fruits known as hybrids, which are only part orange and part something else. Probably the most popular orange hybrid is the tangelo, which is half tangerine (a variety of Mandarin orange), and half grapefruit or pomelo. The tangelo is one of the oldest hybrid fruits on earth. It is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia over 3,500 years ago. All tangelos taste like tangerines and are extraordinarily juicy. In fact, they are known for providing copious quantities of juice at the…
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Neither Steve nor I had any idea where our efforts would lead back in 1947 when we opened that fruit stand in front of Vero Beach Parkway Hotel. All I knew is that Steve had dreamed of getting into the citrus business for as long as I had known him. In fact, his interest began back during the Depression, when his father purchased a small orange grove in Vero Beach as an investment for the family’s future. The family would drive down from their home in Atlanta once or twice a year to visit the grove. Steve tells me it…