All posts in Fruit Information

Cara cara orange season is here at last! Just what is a cara cara orange, you ask? Only one of the sweetest navel oranges you’ll ever taste – and one that hides a surprise inside, too! The Difference Between a Cara Cara Navel & a Classic Navel Orange First discovered at Hacienda Cara Cara (hence the name) in Venezuela during the 1970s, a cara cara has the same round shape and bright orange peel as traditional navels, and like all navel oranges, they’re seedless. But two things set a cara car navel apart from a classic navel: its taste and the…

Can you ever have “too much” citrus? Maybe someone thoughtfully subscribed you to a citrus club and this month you have more than you can eat. Or maybe it’s Texas citrus season and you’re tempted to pile up on those fragrant, delicious-looking and colorful fruits. Perhaps you decided to try your hand at growing your own fruit from a citrus rootstock. Regardless, we don’t believe you can ever have too much citrus! Apart from the easy ways for storing citrus, the excess can be turned into tasty, homemade preserves that make personal, impressive gifts! Almost every entry on the citrus…

The old maxim, “It’s what’s on the inside that counts” can easily applied to the cara cara navel orange! On the From the outside, this citrus surprise looks much like any common navel, but when you open them up the difference is clear even before you taste it. What is a Cara Cara Orange? Cara cara oranges are a type of navel orange. They’re a cross between two navels and were first discovered in the mid-70s in Venezuela. Nowadays, you’re most likely to find a cara cara orange tree in California, where cara cara orange season reaches its peak between…

Grapefruit often gets a bad rap as a so-called “diet” food, unbearably bitter and a chore to eat. But you shouldn’t dismiss this citrus super food out of hand…apart from being supremely healthy, grapefruit adds a crisp, refreshing taste to many recipes. And if its reputed tartness has scared you off in the past, don’t let it – instead, get to know the sweet varieties you’ve been missing! What’s the sweetest grapefruit? Nothing against white grapefruit, but the fact remains: the redder the flesh, the sweeter the grapefruit. The first truly red grapefruit was found growing on a white grapefruit tree…

Mandarin, clementine, tangerine, oh my! If you’re looking for a healthy, kid-friendly treat your child will love seeing in his or her lunchbox, look no further than the clementine (or clementina, which means “clementine” in Spanish). There are quite a few types of orange citrus fruits to choose from, and you may notice that the mandarin tangerine and clementine look very similar. Both are hybrids of mandarin oranges, but the clementine is especially appealing to young snackers, and here are four great reasons for adding them to your child’s diet: Clementines are sweet. Does your child have a sweet tooth?…

Are Cara Cara Oranges Good For You? This Berry-Like Citrus is a Healthy, Tasty Treat! Ordinary oranges? Look again – cara cara navels may look like your garden-variety navel oranges, but inside they’re hiding a surprise! Just What is a Cara Cara Orange, Anyway? Nowadays you’re most likely to spot a cara cara orange tree in California, but the cara cara was first discovered in Venezuela during the 1970s. The cara cara navel is actually a cross between two navels, believed to have developed as a spontaneous bud mutation. On the outside it looks like most navel orange varieties: medium-sized, round…

How these related citrus fruits are alike – and how they’re not. Ever hear of a pomelo? If you love the taste of grapefruit, you owe a debt of gratitude to this lesser-known Southeast Asian citrus fruit, because it’s grapefruit’s director ancestor…grapefruit are actually a hybrid resulting from crossing pomelos with oranges. This relationship is probably at least part of the reason why grapefruit are sometimes erroneously referred to as pomelos, but while the two citrus fruits have many similarities, they’re also very different. Here’s how these two related fruits compare with one another: How Grapefruit and Pomelo are Different…

With so many different types of pears to use for baking, cooking and just plain snacking, pears are a naturally sweet, tasty and healthful treat. It’s no wonder that, on average, pears are growing in popularity as a wholesome, versatile pantry staple. It wasn’t that long ago that we’d have to wait patiently for harvest season to enjoy the bounty of pears that appear in markets (which is why orange and pear gifts in one’s Christmas stocking were once considered rare and luxurious treats). But thanks to improved transportation and storage methods, pears are available all year long—somewhere in the…