8 Easy Ideas And Recipes Using Oranges (2024)

FAQs

What products are made from oranges? ›

The most important product made from oranges in the United States is frozen concentrated juice. Essential oils, pectin, candied peel, and orange marmalade are among the important by-products. Sour, or Seville, oranges are raised especially for making marmalade.

This fruit isn't typically eaten raw, since its natural state is too sour and has a bitter aftertaste. However, you can use sour oranges to make a tasty marmalade, tea, or juice. Experiment with a variety of uses for sour orange juice, such as in salad dressing or as a marinade.

Boiling the oranges softens the peel of the oranges and makes them easier to chop finely in a food processor (or by hand). Also boiling the oranges tends to mellow the pith of the orange (the white part of the skin) - the pith tends to be quite bitter and could leave an unpleasant taste in the cake if it was used raw.

Oranges are popular due to their natural sweetness, the many different types available, and the diversity of uses. For example, a person can consume them in juices and marmalades, eat them whole, or use zested peel to add a tangy flavor to cakes and desserts.

Oranges are a hybrid of two citrus fruit: a pomelo and a mandarin, with 25% of its genome coming from the pomelo and 75% from the mandarin.

There are three common reasons why fruit may taste more sour than expected: 1) The fruit came from the rootstock portion of the tree; 2) The fruit wasn't fully mature when picked; or 3) the tree is infected with Huanglongbing (HLB) a.k.a. citrus greening or yellow dragon disease.

Bitter orange has many chemicals that affect the nervous system. The concentration and effect of these chemicals can change depending on the part of the plant and the method used for preparation. These chemicals can squeeze blood vessels, increase blood pressure, and cause the heart to beat faster.

What can you do with oranges to preserve them? ›

Pack orange pieces into containers. Cover fruit with cold, heavy syrup (40% sugar, see Table 2 in Canning Oranges section) made with excess fruit juice or water. Keep the orange pieces submerged in the syrup by placing a small piece of crumpled waxed paper on top of the fruit in each container.

If you find yourself with a bounty of our favorite sweet citrus fruits and you run out of orange desserts to make, you can stash your extra oranges in the freezer to enjoy later.

The Best Way to Make Your Oranges Last Longer:

Store them in your refrigerator crisper drawer, as opposed to room temperature. If your garage is around the same temperature as your refrigerator, you can store them there too. Store with lemons and avocados in the crisper drawer to increase the shelf life.