The blood orange, a member of the citrus family, is both beautiful in color and delicious in flavor. With it’s raspberry-citrus notes and deep red color, the blood orange adds a refreshing flavor and brightens up recipes. Let’s learn All About Blood Oranges!
All About Blood Oranges
Citrus adds a clean bright flavor to recipes and winter is it’s prime season. Oranges have many species….mandarin, pomelo, Seville, navel, blood orange, and cara cara to name a few…. and of these, the blood orange is my absolute favorite! It’s great just to eat on it’s own, use the segments in a salad or stir fry or microplane the zest to stir into salad dressings and batters for a fabulous citrus flavor! Feel free to substitute a blood orange for any other type of orange in a recipe! So let me introduce you to my good friend the blood orange!
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Facts About Blood Oranges:
- Are available December through May
- Have few or no seeds
- Get their name from the deep rich garnet color of their flesh
- Have an orange rind with a bright red blush
- Have a beautiful red juice
- Have a sweet-tart citrus juice with a hint of raspberry
- Are primarily grown in Italy and are also grown in California and Texas
- Typically will have 3 oranges in 1 pound
- 1 pound of blood oranges will yield about 1 cup of juice
Blood Orange Nutrition
- Rich in antioxidants
- Source of Vitamin C
- Contain calcium
- Provide 28% of the recommended daily intake of fiber
- Contain Vitamin A
- A medium blood orange is 70 calories and contains no fat, sodium or cholesterol!
My sweet granddaughter Emma making homemade blood orange juice!
How to Select and Store Blood Oranges
- Select a firm fruit
- Be sure the orange is heavy in weight for it’s size
- Store at room temperature for a few days
- Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks
How to Use Blood Oranges
- Cut into wedges and combine with onion wedges and roast with chicken
- Stir orange segments into a stir fry
- Add slices to iced tea, a punch , a cocktail or seltzer…with vodka, if you’d like
- Stir zest into cookie dough or cake batter
- Add orange segments to a salad
- Stir zest into a salad dressing
Let me know how you enjoy your
blood oranges!
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