Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

We have navel oranges, satsumas, and tangerines planted in our yard and enjoy eating their fruit.  We also have neighbors who share bags and bags of satsumas from their mature trees with us.  In some reading, I learned that oranges were probably introduced to Louisiana by French explorers.  Our mild tropical climate provides a pretty good environment for growing them.  I was always told by locals to wait until after a frost to harvest citrus as the cold weather increases the sugar content and makes the fruit sweeter.  I did some reading and the Orlando Florida Sentinel (they probably know a little bit about citrus in Florida, huh?) says that waiting until after colder weather to harvest citrus is a common misconception, as citrus ripening is dependant upon heat.  Oh well, I better start harvesting then. 

First up is a young navel orange tree that is loaded up with fruit for its small size.  Tricia and I were joking that it looked like the pitiful little Charlie Brown Christmas tree!


Poor little navel orange tree

Looking closely at the tree, it is apparent that the tree is loaded up with blooms for next year's crop.  I'd best get the fruit off of the tree so that it can direct all the energy toward the production of new fruit.  I'll also make note to walk by this tree in a week or so.  I don't know if there is a better fragrance on God's green earth that orange blossoms.  We generally stand by the tree smelling them and enjoying the scent. 

Orange blossoms about to burst into bloom

Here is a photo that has both fruit and blooms - one crop ending and another beginning.  Neat to see the full circle.

Fruit & Blooms

From that one little tree we picked a bucket full of navel oranges.  Now, they aren't pretty oranges.  They are full of scars.  I'm trying to learn about what causes this and I'm striking out so far.  My neighbor thought that birds do this damage, scratching the fruit to get the citrus oils for their feathers.  He put nets around his trees to protect them.  Others say that it is a bug causing the damage.  As I searched I found that an insect called a thrip scars citrus, but then it also said that there are no thrips in Louisiana.  Guess I'll keep looking for the culprit causing this damage - at least it is only cosmetic damage as the fruit are delicious.


Bowl of navel oranges

We eat a lot of them right out of fridge or right off of the tree, but with some, we make fresh squeezed orange juice.  We cut them in half and twist them back and forth over a hand juicer and then pour through a sieve to catch the seeds. 


Juicing a fresh picked orange

 And here is the result we get from just two oranges: a nice glass of fresh squeezed orange juice.  Sweet.  Delicious.  Nutritious.  This juice puts the OJ from concentrate to shame!


Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

For some strange reason, drinking Orange Juice brings me back to when I was a kid.  Do you remember when Anita Bryant was the spokesperson for Florida Orange Juice and she'd sing in the orange groves?  I think in the ad she said, "A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine."  Funny how things stick with you.  (That's an odd little creature in her hand, huh?)


 I raise my OJ glass in a toast.  Perhaps Tricia will sing in our little orange grove.  Cheers!