Monday, February 16, 2009

Oranges and they're varieties.

Today I investigated blood red oranges and discovered some interesting facts.
Bloods only grow naturally in sicily because of the unique micro climate i.e. crazy volcanic rock composition of the soil. Florida along with others have failed to replicate the blood. There are three types 1. Sanguinel which is native to Spain; 2. Taroc meaning 'half blood' is thought to have evolved from the sanguinel; 3. Moro; with taroc having the greatest vitamin C content, so get drinking it! Although the moro has the largest proportion of antioxidants, whatever you poison may be. Moros get there deep red colour from a pigment called anthocyanin, which neutralises free radicals (supposedly linked to cancer!). The red pigmentation in all blood oranges comes from the pigment Antiociani. The degree of colouring depends on temperature and light exposure, both in high quantity in Siciliy. This is the guts of what I learnt, there are other varieties but obviously not worth a mention.

Who's next?

http://obiolla.com/bloodorange.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_orange

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