Blood orange

"Red orange" redirects here. Not to be confused with Vermilion.
This article is about the citrus fruit. For other uses, see Blood orange (disambiguation).
Blood orange
A sliced blood orange
SpeciesCitrus × sinensis
Cultivar groupBlood orange cultivars
OriginSouthern Mediterranean, 18th century
Cultivar group members

The blood orange is a variety of orange with crimson, near blood-colored flesh. It is one of the sweet orange varieties (Citrus × sinensis). It is also known as the raspberry orange.

The dark flesh color is due to the presence of anthocyanins, a family of polyphenol pigments common to many flowers and fruit, but uncommon in citrus fruits.[1] Chrysanthemin (cyanidin 3-O-glucoside) is the main compound found in red oranges.[2] The flesh develops its characteristic red color when the fruit develops with low temperatures during the night.[3] Sometimes, dark coloring is seen on the exterior of the rind as well. This depends on the variety of blood orange. The skin can be tougher and harder to peel than that of other oranges. Blood oranges have a unique flavor compared to other oranges, being distinctly raspberry-like in addition to the usual citrus notes.[3] The anthocyanin pigments of blood oranges begin accumulating in the vesicles at the edges of the segments, and at the blossom end of the fruit, and continue accumulating in cold storage after harvest.

The blood orange is a natural mutation of the orange, which is itself a hybrid, probably between the pomelo and the tangerine.[4] Within Europe, the arancia rossa di Sicilia (red orange of Sicily) has Protected Geographical Status.[5] In the Valencian Community, it was introduced in the second half of the 19th century.[6]

  1. ^ Paolo, Rapisarda; Fabiana, Fanella; Emanuele, Maccarone (2000). "Reliability of Analytical Methods for Determining Anthocyanins in Blood Orange Juices". J. Agric. Food Chem. 48 (6): 2249–2252. doi:10.1021/jf991157h. PMID 10888531.
  2. ^ Felgines, C.; Texier, O.; Besson, C.; Vitaglione, P; Lamaison, J.-L.; Fogliano, V.; Scalbert, A.; Vanella, L.; Galvano, F. (2008). "Influence of glucose on cyanidin 3-glucoside absorption in rats". Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 52 (8): 959–64. doi:10.1002/mnfr.200700377. PMID 18646002.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference McGee was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Nicolosi, E.; Deng, Z. N.; Gentile, A.; La Malfa, S.; Continella, G.; Tribulato, E. (2000). "Citrus phylogeny and genetic origin of important species as investigated by molecular markers". Theor. Appl. Genet. 100 (8): 1155–1166. doi:10.1007/s001220051419. S2CID 24057066.
  5. ^ "IGP Arancia Rossa di Sicilia: Territory". IGP Arancia Rossa di Sicilia. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-12-28.
  6. ^ Besó Ros, Adrià (2016). Horts de tarongers. La formació del verger valencià (in Valencian). Valencia: Institució Alfons el Magnànim. p. 144. ISBN 978-84-7822-686-3.