Oranges: the gold of Sicily

Tasty, juicy and nutritious, Sicilian oranges are a product we are proud of in the world. And which our health cannot do without.

 
Arriving in Sicily, the first thing you will notice are the orange groves that are lost visibly, mixing the scent of their flowers with that of the thick Mediterranean scrub. The vast territory of Sicily, in fact, lends itself to the cultivation of this citrus fruit more than many others: the properties of the land, the temperate climate thanks to the mitigating action of the sea and the long exposure to the sun make this land the privileged place for production of oranges, a fruit that requires slow and long times to reach perfect ripeness.

Furthermore, despite modernity, many of the consortia and agritourism farms in the region have bet everything on the genuineness of the product, which is grown without the addition of additives and preservatives that could compromise its taste and nutritional and organoleptic properties.

It is no coincidence, in fact, that today, although the cultivation of this citrus fruit has also extended to Calabria and Campania, Sicilian oranges remain the spearhead of Sicilian agricultural production: think, our beautiful Sicily ranks eighth place, on a world scale, for the production of this fruit!

 

The origins of oranges in Sicily

Like all other citrus fruits, oranges also come from Asia and, by convention, their importation into Italy is traced back to the fourteenth century, when Portuguese merchants stopped on the Sicilian coasts, returning from China and Southeast Asia.

In fact, some testimonies tell us that oranges were already present on Sicilian soil starting from the 1st century AD. probably imported by the Arabs during the domination of the island. Despite this, it seems that for centuries the orange tree was used only for ornamental purposes and that only with the arrival of the sweet orange, brought by the Portuguese, this citrus fruit began to be part of the diet of the Sicilians.

 

All kinds of Sicilian oranges

Today we all eat oranges and you too know how important they are in the supply of vitamin C and in facilitating the absorption of iron. But if it is true that all Sicilian oranges are of fundamental importance in proper nutrition, it is equally true that they are not all the same and that each variety has unique characteristics.

  • Sanguinello – Belonging to the large family of Sicilian blood oranges, PGI brand since 1997, the Sanguinello variety is grown in the municipalities of south-eastern Sicily, especially in the lands that run from the slopes of Etna to Syracuse. Despite ripening in February, it is only during the month of March that it reaches the peak of taste.
  • Moro – dark, seedless, appreciated for making nutritious and tasty juices, this variety of Sicilian blood oranges begins to ripen in December. But don't be in a hurry: even in this case, it will only be in March that it will release all its intense flavor!
  • Tarocco –the Tarocco Orange is known as the "queen of oranges" and not surprisingly! Extremely juicy and with very few seeds, it has a bright orange pulp, crossed by intense red streaks. In its yellow variant, however, it is completely seedless.

  • Navel – Sicilian excellence, the Navel orange is mostly produced in the center of the island, more precisely in the territory of Ribera. The delicate flavor makes it perfect to be consumed at the end of a meal.

But in reality all this is of little importance. Because a Sicilian orange is always an intense sensory experience that involves smell and taste. Trust me, one bite and it will be like being under the warm Sicilian sun, surrounded by its scents!

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