Jaffa orange | |
---|---|
Species | Citrus × sinensis |
Hybrid parentage | 'Baladi' orange × unknown |
Cultivar | 'Jaffa' |
Origin | Ottoman Palestine (region) in mid-19th century (c. 1840s) |
The Jaffa orange (Hebrew: תפוז יפו), is an orange variety with few seeds and a tough skin that makes it particularly suitable for export.
Developed by Arab farmers in the mid-19th century, the variety takes its name from the city of Jaffa where it was first produced for export.[1][2] The orange was the primary citrus export for the city. It is, along with the navel and bitter orange, one of three main varieties of the fruit grown in the Mediterranean, Southern Europe, and the Middle East. The Jaffa is cultivated in Israel, Palestine, Cyprus, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.[2]
During the initial Jewish immigration to Palestine, the business of maintaining orchards and exporting oranges was an integrated venture of Jews and Arabs based out of the Port of Jaffa.