Orange

Get to know it

Peel a Washington navel and the skin comes away from firm segments with a rich citrus flavour. Sweet oranges range from this seedless eating orange to juicy Valencias and red-fleshed blood oranges. They all belong to Citrus × sinensis.

What it is

A sweet orange is usually about 6–10 cm (2½–4 in) across. Under its outer peel lies a spongy white layer called pith. Thin membranes divide the flesh into segments packed with little sacs of juice.

Washington navels suit peeling and eating by the segment. Valencias are especially juicy, with a thin peel that can stay green even when the fruit is ripe. Blood oranges, including Moro and Tarocco, have deep red streaks through the flesh.

Where it comes from

Sweet orange began as a cross between mandarin and pomelo, probably in southern China and neighbouring parts of northeastern India and Southeast Asia. Spaniards carried it to Mexico and South America in the mid-1500s.

Brazil is now a major grower: the January 2026 forecast puts its 2025/26 crop at 13.5 million tonnes, within a world crop of 45.9 million tonnes. In Tamil Nadu, Sathukudi is one commercially grown sweet-orange variety.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Sicily, orange salad goes beside roast or grilled fish. Peeled Tarocco oranges join tomatoes, olives and thin slices of red onion, dressed with olive oil, mint and basil. The salad is served cold.

In Greece, portokalopita turns orange into a syrup-soaked cake. Strips of dried filo pastry fold into a mixture of yogurt, eggs, orange zest and marmalade. After baking, the warm cake absorbs a cooled orange syrup.

How it's grown

An orange tree keeps its glossy green leaves year-round and can reach about 9 m (30 ft). It needs sun and warmth, with protection from frost. Growers reproduce a chosen variety by joining one of its buds to a rooted citrus plant.

In Tamil Nadu, Rangpur lime and rough lemon commonly provide those roots, and trees start bearing from about the fifth year after planting. The orange variety grows above the join; the supporting roots belong to the other citrus.

When and where you'll find it

Whole sweet oranges are a supermarket fruit, but the variety changes with the season. At the citrus collection in Riverside, California, Washington navels usually ripen from November to January. California Valencias usually mature in summer, extending the fresh-orange season beyond the winter navels.

A picked orange does not become sweeter on the counter. In the fridge, whole oranges keep for about 4 to 6 weeks.

Sources · 9

Get it near Detroit

What it tastes like

As soft as a grapefruit, as sweet as a blueberry≈

Not sweetlemonSweet

MildbananalemonSour

SoftpearappleCrisp

More about the taste

Washington navel has firm, moderately juicy flesh and a rich flavor. Other sweet-orange groups strike different balances of sweetness and acidity — the variety name is a useful starting point.

Valencia oranges are especially juicy; navel oranges are easy to section for fresh eating. Variety, harvest maturity and storage history all affect texture and sweetness in any given batch.

A tasting invitation

Compare a navel-type orange and a Valencia-type orange when both are in good condition. Notice membrane texture, juice release and balance between sweetness and acidity. Use the comparison as a personal preference test, not a contest with one permanent winner.

Choose, ripen, store, eat

1ChooseSound fruit
Look for
Sound fruit
Ignore
Peel color
Peel color is only part of the story: a Valencia can still look green when its flavor is fully developed.
2RipenDoesn’t ripen after picking
Doesn’t ripen after picking
Oranges do not become sweeter after picking. Buy them ready to enjoy rather than waiting for countertop sweetening.
3StoreFridge, whole
1. FridgeWhole
Refrigerate picked oranges to keep them longer.
4EatPeeled segments, Juice
Eat
Peeled segmentsJuice
Eat the peeled segments or use the juice. Navels are especially easy to section for fresh eating.

More tips

A useful detail Cool weather can change citrus peel color without changing sweetness. That separation explains why a greenish ripe orange and a beautifully colored disappointing orange can both exist; skin color is one signal, not a complete tasting report.

Worth knowing

Blood-orange color can deepen in storage without the taste improving.
A commercially stored orange can keep its sugar-acid balance while its flavor declines.
A low-acid orange isn't automatically better eating; flavor intensity and juiciness count as much as sweetness and tartness.

Detroit, Michigan

When it’s good here

Grown here

Ships from California, FloridaAll year

56 growing areas, 16 countries

Algarve
Andhra Pradesh
Antalya
Bahia
Bihar
Cáceres
California
Catania
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Eastern Cape
Ehime
Espírito Santo
Florida
Hawaii
Ica
Johor
Karnataka
La Libertad
Limpopo
New South Wales
O'Higgins
Pahang
Queensland
South Africa
You

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7 of 15 areas · October

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Growing areas by country

Spain8
Brazil7
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Peru4

and 11 more countriesand 8 more countries

Washington navel oranges trace to plants sent to Eliza Tibbets in Riverside, California, after the USDA received Brazilian budwood in 1870. Her planting helped draw growers' attention to the variety, though exactly where it first originated remains uncertain.
Riverside, California, United States

109 varieties

See all 109 varieties

Cook it

How to serve it first

Cut an orange crosswise into rounds to show the segments, or peel it for a simple hand-held snack. Try adding a little citrus zest to a dressing separately from the juice, then adjust each contribution independently.

Recipes 5

4 orange festivals

Fête du CitronFebMenton, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France · Organiser ↗Feb

Gayndah Orange FestivalApr–MayGayndah, Queensland, Australia · Organiser ↗Apr–May

Orange Festival of Adventure & MusicDecDambuk, Arunachal Pradesh, India · Organiser ↗Dec

Tamenglong Orange FestivalDecTamenglong, Manipur, India · Organiser ↗Dec

Festivals this month →

Strange but true

If you like Orange

Close relatives

Nutrition, sources

Nutrition

Oranges, raw, California, valencias · per 100 g

Energy49kcal · 205 kJ

Carbohydrate: 12 g
Fiber: 2.5 g
Protein: 1 g
Fat: 0.3 g
Vitamin C: 49 mg
Potassium: 179 mg

Sources

Orange · Fruitopia · checked Sep 23, 2026

What we don't know yet

The Riverside harvest window applies to one navel-orange planting there.