Each variety of citrus fruit has a specific harvesting period and certain peculiarities that characterise it. Some of these peculiarities are: size, shape, juiciness, acidity, distance from the skin to the fruit, size of the peel, etc.
SWEET ORANGE VARIETIES
It is divided into four groups: Navel, Sucreñas, Blancas and Sangre, the last three being of greatest interest to the juice industry.
NAVEL GROUP
They are called navel, since a navel-like bump forms at the bottom of them. The Navel is the juiciest and sweetest variety, it has no seeds.
It has an intense orange color and is easily peeled. Navel oranges are characterized by a slight bitterness when squeezed due to a substance called limonine. Main types of Navel oranges and dates of harvest:
– Washington Navel:
The most widespread variety and the largest. It is easily peeled, sweet and with the right levels of acidity.
Harvest months: From November to May.
-Barnfield Late Navel:
Large, rounded fruit variety with good juice levels.
Harvesting months: From January to May.
-Chislett Summer Navel:
Large and well-coloured oranges. They have an intense orange flesh and produce a large amount of juice. They have the ideal conditions for keeping them in cold storage.
Harvesting months: From January to May.
-Navelate:
Fruit is of excellent quality, smaller than the Washington Navel and seedless. They are suitable for juicing, with a pale orange flesh and thick skin, which can make them a little difficult to peel.
Harvest months: From January to March.
-Navelina:
A variety of high quality, seedless oranges. The navel of this variety is not very prominent and slightly oval in shape, its pulp is very juicy.
Harvesting months: From October to January.
GROUP SUCREÑAS
A small group of varieties that are characterized by the extremely low acidity and sweetness of the juice.
-Lime:
Medium or small fruit, spherical in shape, relatively few seeds and with a medium-thick, light orange-coloured rind. The pulp is light yellow, soft, juicy and tasteless due to the lack of acid.
Harvesting months: From October to December.
-Succari:
A medium to small sized fruit, it is round, with a large number of seeds and a smooth, thin, well-colored and adherent rind. The pulp is pale and has abundant juice that is almost devoid of acids
Harvest months: From October to December.
-Sucreña:
Fruit of medium to small size, it is of subglobose form to spherical, of orange color and with seeds. The pulp has good colour, as does the rind, as well as a moderately high juice content, although it has an insipid flavour due to its lack of acidity.
Harvesting months: From December to February.
All excellent fruits for our industrial juicers!