The Polly Hale Newsletter Sept 2002: Steve’s Corner – Are green oranges ripe enough to eat?

People sometime ask if oranges with slightly green-tinted peel are ripe enough to eat. The answer is yes, by all means. By the time we pick our oranges to fill your orders, they’ve reached full maturity in size and content. Mother Nature works her wonders on a time schedule that never fails to deliver. A greenish tint here and there only means an orange is ripe, sweet and juicy, ready for you to enjoy.

So, why do ripe oranges sometimes have that tint of green? There are two explanations for this.

The first has to do with climate. When the weather is cold, the peel turns yellow orange. If the weather is mild – and, of course Florida is well known for its warm weather – the orange peel tends to have a green tint.

The second reason is something called “regreening”. This is a natural process that occurs in the spring, when new blooms are formed on trees still laden with ripe fruit. Orange trees produce more chlorophyll at that time, which finds its way into the skin of the unpicked, mature fruit. This process has no effect on the flavor.

Unlike other fruit, ripe oranges can stay on the trees a long time at their peak of perfection. How long? Thanks to you, we never have to find out, because our crop is always picked, packed and shipped daily to keep you, your family and friends constantly supplied with our premium citrus.