Varietal Information

Oranges

Navels

Navel oranges have the distinctive feature of having a small secondary fruit embedded in the apex of the primary fruit. Generally speaking, navels are the earliest maturing of orange varieties, producing seedless fruit of larger size than most others, with deep orange, easily peeled rinds and a sweet and pleasant flavour.

There are several varieties of navel oranges, including the Navelina, Navel Late and Lane Late.

Navelina

Originating in California the Navelina was first named the Smith's Early navel. The crop is harvested from mid-October through to mid-January and over the past decade has increased its share of the Spanish crop, and is now one of their most popular varieties.

Navelate and Lane Late

The Lane Late was first discovered in 1950 in Australia, the name is derived from the surname of the property owner where it was discovered. This orange is significantly later maturing and colours up much more slowly by as much as four to six weeks in some locations.

The Navel Late is similar to the Lane Late, except that it is slightly oval in shape and has a more conspicuous navel. Navel Late and Lane Lates are harvested from early January, with the former ending mid-April at least six weeks earlier than the Lane Late.

Valencia

The ever-popular Valencia is a very juicy orange with an excellent flavour, medium sized and slightly oblong in shape with a moderately thin rind.

The Valencia orange is today the leading variety in many citrus producing countries, and no other variety is more widely grown and on such an extensive scale. Unlike common assumptions, the Valencia orange is not of Spanish origin. Instead the variety was first discovered in the Azores and is almost certainly of old Portuguese origin.

In the early 1860s the variety was sent from the Azores to a nurseryman in England, recognising the good characteristics he than sent the variety to a fellow nurseryman in Long Island, USA. The name derived when a Spanish citrus expert visiting California suggested that the variety be renamed the Valencia Late, as he believed it bore great resemblance to a late maturing orange grown in the Valencia region.

The Valencia's outstanding qualities were soon realised and this variety of orange changed the face of citrus production on a world sale, becoming the leading variety in most of the citrus-producing countries.

Delta Valencia

The Delta Valencia is a seedless Valencia selection. It originates from South Africa, but is also now grown in California and more recently Argentina.

Pigmented Orange

The exact origins of pigmented or "blood" oranges are not completely certain, it was thought they originated in either Malta or Sicily, but recently it has been suggested that they came from China. There are many different pigmented varieties including Moro, Tarocco and Sanguinello. The depth of pigment on both the rind and flesh varies by variety but they all have the same distinctive taste; very tender juicy flesh and a typical rich flavour that has often been described as having a subtle raspberry or cherry taste.

Seville

The Spanish Seville is the most common bitter orange and is used for the production of marmalade. Seville oranges have a thick, rough, uneven rind which can give the fruit a scruffy appearance.

Mandarins

Clemenpons

A variety of Clementine the Clemenpons are a relatively recent variety first discovered in 1968 in Pego, Alicante, Spain. Reaching maturity two to three weeks earlier then the Nules, the Clemenpons are of good size with an excellent flavour.

Clemenules

Harvested from November through to January, the Nules was discovered near the town of the same name in the Casellon Province of Spain. Due to their excellent taste this variety is now the predominate Clementine in Spain, accounting for 65% of their crop. This variety has also become very popular in southern hemisphere countries like South Africa and Chile.

Clem Lates

Known by the name Afourer, Nadorcott and Clem Lates this is a new Clementine variety that follows the Clemenule and has considerably extended the Clementine season. Characterised by its deep orange coloured rind the Clem Late has easy peeling properties and a sweet rich flavour.

Clemenvilla

Known as the Clemenvilla and also the Nova this mandarin variety is well regarded for its very juicy, sweet flavour and dark bright orange rind. A hybrid between a Clementine and tangelo (grapefruit/tangerine) this variety was created in Florida in 1942.

Ortanique

An extremely juicy and sweet mandarin variety, the Ortanique was discovered in Jamaica, and until the early 1970s the production was limited and restricted to there. However this variety is now grown in many countries including; Honduras, Cyprus, Israel, South Africa, Morocco and Spain.

Satsuma

The Satsuma is a seedless mandarin variety that originated in Japan in the early 1400s and has a very distinctive appearance and taste from the other mandarin varieties. Extremely easy to peel, with a soft almost velvety flesh, Satsuma's have a tender juicy taste not quite as rich as a Clementine. They are very popular with children and also the UK market, once unpopular to grow there has been a recent resurgence with new plantings in Spain, South Africa and South America.

Grapefruit

Marsh

White grapefruit variety Marsh is the predominate white variety and is grown in almost all grapefruit producing countries. Marsh has the typical white grapefruit flavour which is very refreshing, the variety also benefits from a low seed count.

Star Ruby

Star Ruby grapefruit is commonly sold as red in the UK and this variety has the most deeply pigmented flesh of any grapefruit yet developed. They are very juicy and have a sweeter flavour than Marsh, pigmented grapefruit is now more popular than the white variety.

Ruby Red

Ruby Red grapefruit is another pigmented variety sold as pink in the UK, not as deeply coloured as the Star Ruby, the Ruby Red is very juicy with a sweeter flavour and is the most popular variety in Florida accounting for twice the combined total of all other pigmented varieties grown.