L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2022 L'Italo-Americano J u i c y , s w e e t , a n d t a n g y , o r a n g e s a r e , a l o n g w i t h lemons, a symbol o f t h e b o u n t i f u l land our South is. Their col- ors are those of light and the sun, their scent reminds us o f f r e s h , c r i s p m o r n i n g s . When burned on the fire, their fragrant peels spell one word in our hearts: Christ- mas. Sicily is Italy's largest pro- ducer of oranges, with about 1 . 6 m i l l i o n t o n s y i e l d e d every year, and Italy is the third-largest producer of cit- r u s f r u i t s i n t h e Mediterranean basin, after Spain and Egypt. Their qual- ity is uncontested: lemons from Calabria and oranges from Sicily are the best you can find. We may be biased, but I challenge anyone who's had a perfectly ripe, fresh orange from the Belpaese to deny how delicious they are! Sicily is known especially f o r i t s r u b y r e d a r a n c e rosse, blood oranges, which are not only good for you and for the palate but also incredibly pretty to look at. B u t t h e w o r l d o f a r a n c e rosse is more complex than you may think because there is more than one variety and each one of them has specif- ic characteristics; in other words, "arancia rossa" is an umbrella name, under which more types of fruit are gath- e r e d , i n c l u d i n g t h e famous tarocco (itself with m o r e t h a n o n e v a r i e t y ) , t h e s a n g u i n e l l o , a n d the Moro. We'll see some o f t h e d i f f e r e n c e s a m o n g them in a while, but let's start with some history. The earliest written attes- tations of the existence of blood oranges date to 1646 and the writings of Jesuit b o t a n i s t G i o v a n n i Battista Ferrari who, dur- ing a trip to the Philippines, came across orange citrus fruits with red flesh and a t a s t e s i m i l a r t o t h a t o f grapes - or so he said! Some two centuries later, it was a g r o n o m i s t G i u s e p p e I n z e n g a , h i m s e l f f r o m Sicily, to decipher the world of oranges for the first time i n h i s A g r u m i S i c i l i a n i . Here, Inzenga mentions sev- eral varieties of red-fleshed fruits, which he considered native to the Mediterranean basin, an opinion that seems to be shared among special- ists still today. What are the characteris- tic of blood oranges? According to Agrumaria C o r l e o n e , a h i s t o r i c a l Sicilian company that has been producing citrus fruit juices, extracts, and essential oils since 1890, red oranges have, in general, a slightly rough skin, which is green when the fruit is not ripe and then turns to yellow, orange or reddish. The red hue is caused by the pres- ence of hydro-soluble pig- ments called anthocyanins. Red oranges are a staple in o u r m o r n i n g , f r e s h l y s q u e e z e d O J , n o t o n l y b e c a u s e t h e i r j u i c e l o o k s pretty, but because their fla- v o r i s v e r y i n t e n s e , w i t h h i n t s o f b e r r i e s a n d cherries. T h r e e v a r i e t i e s o f r e d oranges are particularly well known. Sanguinello orang es are in season right now, a s t h e y r i p e n b e t w e e n February and April. They are k n o w n f o r t h e d e e p - r e d crimson of their flesh and the intense color of their juice. Indeed, this has made them one of the most popu- l a r S i c i l i a n o r a n g e s i n E u r o p e . T h e n w e h a v e Moro oranges, which you'll easily recognize because of their bi-colored skin: they are usually orange on one side and red on the other. Their flesh, which is natural- ly free from seeds, is bright r e d a n d i t s f l a v o r i s v e r y i n t e n s e . Y o u ' l l f i n d t h e m m o r e e a s i l y b e t w e e n December and March. L a s t b u t n o t l e a s t , w e have the most famous of all r e d o r a n g e s , t a r o c c o oranges. First attested in the e a r l y 2 0 t h c e n t u r y a n d n a t i v e t o t h e a r e a o f Pedagaggi (Siracusa), their cultivation soon spread to o t h e r a r e a s o f t h e i s l a n d including Francofonte and L e n t i n i , a l w a y s i n t h e Siracusa province, as well as to the south of the Etna. The first botanical treatise dis- cussing tarocco oranges is from 1929 and their origin, here, is placed at the end of the 1800s. Tarocco fruits have a rela- t i v e l y t h i n s k i n , w h i c h i s smoother than that of other varieties, but quite tough. The red color of their flesh is d u e t o t h e f a c t t a r o c c o oranges mature later in the year than others. By the way, they can reach almost 250 grams in weight: that's ½ pound! Depending on its specific c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , t a r o c c o orange can be further classi- f i e d i n t a r o c c o g a l l o , a sweet and only lightly pig- m e n t e d o r a n g e , t a r o c c o nucellare, more pigmented t h a n t h e g a l l o , a n d t h e t a r o c c o c o m u n e , w h i c h i s j u i c y a n d r e d . Tarocco is in season between D e c e m b e r a n d F e b r u a r y , with the best fruits, experts say, coming well into the month of January. R e d a n d d e l i c i o u s , b u t h o w s h o u l d w e e n j o y o u r blood oranges (and tarocco oranges in particular)? Well, they can, of course, b e e n j o y e d j u s t l i k e t h a t , fresh, wedge after wedge, but they are also great to make orange juice first thing in the morning, because they a r e n a t u r a l l y s w e e t a n d juicy. And if you haven't tried oranges in salads, then it's high time you do! They are great sliced and mixed with raw fennel or, even more simply, you could do what the Sicilians do: slice your tarocco orange as thin as you can and dress with ground b l a c k p e p p e r , s a l t , s o m e l e m o n j u i c e , e x t r a v i r g i n olive oil, and a handful of olives. Just perfect. Last but not least, tarocco oranges a r e g r e a t t o m a k e m a r - malade, too! FRANCESCA BEZZONE Red oranges, or the red gold of Sicily Beautiful orange trees and baskets filled with oranges in Sicily (Photo: Jojjik/Dreamstime) LIFESTYLE FASHION FOOD ARTS ADVICE

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