Blood Oranges - Seasonal Spotlight
Blood oranges are the spookiest fruit there is. It's like an early Halloween when they make their appearance in South East Queensland around July each year.
Blood oranges are super sweet with a barely perceptible tang. The tangy overtone heralds from the existence of the compound Anthocyanin. Without a full science lesson, Anthocyanins are a natural pigment that create the red, purple and blue colours in some plants, such as berries, pomegranates and red cabbage. This compound isn't in regular oranges - just the bloody ones.
Each blood orange varies in the amount of 'blood' inside of it. You can't tell from the outside - although sometimes there is a reddish blush on the skin - the blush doesn't correlate with how much 'blood' is on the inside. So it is always an exciting surprise when you cut one open. Sometimes there's barely a drop of blood, and other times the whole orange is drowning in well, red. We should just call those ones 'Reds'!
There's not much else to say about blood oranges - they are best cut open, admired, and then eaten (or drink their delectable juice). They are truly remarkable and it is worth enjoying at least one each year. The ones picture above and below are currently available from Sprayfree Pharmacy and Good Harvest. Both these organisations supply from Neil and Tanya Richards of the Big Orange in Gayndah, who have been producing beautiful sprayfree citrus for many many years.
There are still blood oranges available online right now at Sprayfree Pharmacy. Not a sales pitch - just a Public Service Announcement in case you would like to sink your teeth into one or more of these seasonal delights.
Enjoy!
A blood orange and its juice
p.s. Photo credits: Blood oranges from The Big Orange at Gaynah supplied by Good Harvest and Sprayfree Pharmacy.
p.p.s definitely a sales pitch! – > Alma Plate's new season of cooking classes has just launched. In the classes we enjoy making food with local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients. Click here to check out more information about the classes or to book in.
