Bitter orange
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The bitter orange, sour orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the hybrid citrus tree species Citrus × aurantium, and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world. It is a cross between the pomelo, Citrus maxima, and the wild type mandarin orange, Citrus reticulata. The bitter orange is used to make essential oil, used in foods, drinks, and pharmaceuticals. The Seville orange is prized for making British orange marmalade.
DefinitionEdit
In some proposed systems, the species Citrus × aurantium includes not only the bitter orange proper, but all other hybrids between the pomelo and the wild type mandarin, namely the sweet orange, the grapefruit, and all cultivated mandarins.<ref name="Talon 2020">Template:Cite book p. 69–70</ref><ref name="Mabberley 2022">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Powo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This article only deals with the bitter orange proper.
HistoryEdit
The bitter orange, like many cultivated Citrus species, is a hybrid, in its case of the wild mandarin and pomelo.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Wu Terol Ibanez 2018">Template:Cite journal and Supplement</ref>
The bitter orange spread from Southeast Asia via India and Iran to the Islamic world as early as 700 AD in the Arab Agricultural Revolution.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After the Columbian exchange, the pomelo was introduced to the New World, starting in Mexico by 1568.<ref name="purdue">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
BotanyEdit
DescriptionEdit
The bitter orange has orange fruit with a distinctly bitter or sour taste. The tree has alternate simple leaves on long petioles; there are long thorns on the petiole. The trees require little care and may live for as long as 600 years. It grows in subtropical regions but can tolerate a brief frost.<ref name=purdue/>
Pests and diseasesEdit
The bitter orange has many of the same pests and diseases as other citrus fruits. Viral diseases include citrus tristeza virus, crinkly leaf virus, and xyloporosis. Among the many fungal diseases are anthracnose, dieback, and heart rot.<ref name=purdue/>
VarietiesEdit
- C. × aurantium var. myrtifolia is possibly a distinct species, Citrus myrtifolia. The 'Chinotto' cultivar is used to make the drink of the same name.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- C. × aurantium var. daidai, the daidai, is used in Chinese medicine and in tea.<ref name=purdue/>
- C. × aurantium subsp. currassuviencis, the laraha, grows on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. The dried peel is used in Curaçao liqueur.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Among the many related species is Citrus bergamia, the bergamot orange. This is probably a bitter orange and limetta hybrid; it is cultivated in Italy for the production of bergamot oil, a component of many brands of perfume and tea, especially Earl Grey tea.<ref>Template:GRIN</ref> It is a less hardy plant than other bitter orange varieties.<ref name=purdue/>
UsesEdit
CulinaryEdit
While the raw pulp is not edible,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> bitter orange is widely used in cooking. The Seville orange (the usual name in this context) is prized for making British orange marmalade, being higher in pectin than the sweet orange, and therefore giving a better set and a higher yield. Once a year, oranges of this variety are collected from trees in Seville and shipped to Britain to be used in marmalade. However, the fruit is rarely consumed locally in Andalusia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This reflects Britain, Portugal and Spain's historic Atlantic trading relationship; an early recipe for 'marmelet of oranges' was recorded by Eliza Cholmondeley in 1677.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bitter orange—bigarade—was used in all early recipes for duck à l'orange, originally called canard à la bigarade.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Malta too has a tradition of making bitter oranges into marmalade.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Finland, mämmi is a fermented malted rye dough flavoured with ground Seville orange zest.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Across Scandinavia, bitter orange peel is used in dried, ground form in baked goods such as Christmas bread<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and gingerbread.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In Greece, the nerántzi is one of the most prized fruits used for spoon sweets.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Adana province, Turkey, bitter orange jam is a principal dessert.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Bitter oranges are made into chutneys in India, either in the style of a raita with curds, or roasted, spiced, and sweetened to form a condiment that can be preserved in jars.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Yucatán (Mexico), it is a main ingredient of the cochinita pibil.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Suriname, its juice is used in the well-known dish pom.<ref name="Vaneker 2012">Template:Cite book</ref>
An essential oil is extracted from the peel of dried, unripe bitter oranges; C. aurantium var. curassaviensis in particular is used in Curaçao liqueur.<ref name=purdue/> An oil is pressed from the fresh peel of ripe fruit in many countries and used in ice creams, puddings, sweets, soft and alcoholic drinks, and pharmaceuticals.<ref name=purdue/> The flowers are distilled to yield Neroli oil<ref name=purdue/> and orange flower water,<ref name="Duffy 2005">Template:Cite news</ref> with similar uses.<ref name=purdue/> Neroli oil is also employed in perfumes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The peel of bitter oranges is used as a spice in Belgian Witbier (white beer), for orange-flavored liqueurs such as Cointreau, and to produce bitters such as Oranjebitter.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is a component of Nordic hot spiced wine, glögg.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Homemade marmalade, England.jpg
English marmalade is traditionally homemade in the winter
- Poster 13154.jpg
"Bitter Campari" poster, Leonetto Cappiello, Template:Circa 1921
- Stamp of Albania - 1965 - Colnect 323058 - Orange Citrus sinensis.jpeg
1965 Albanian postage stamp
- Bitter orange juice or Narthangai juice (cropped).jpg
Narthangai juice, India
- Pepparkakor.JPG
lang}} gingerbread, Sweden
Rootstock, wood, and soapEdit
The bitter orange is used as a rootstock in groves of sweet orange.<ref name=purdue/> The fruit and leaves make lather and can be used as soap.<ref name=purdue/> The hard, white or light-yellow wood is used in woodworking and made into baseball bats in Cuba.<ref name=purdue/>
Herbal stimulantEdit
Extracts of bitter orange and its peel have been marketed as dietary supplements purported to act as a weight-loss aid and appetite suppressant.<ref name="sharpe">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="nccam"/> Bitter orange contains the tyramine metabolites N-methyltyramine, octopamine, and synephrine,<ref name="pmid18700609"/> substances similar to epinephrine, which act on the α1 adrenergic receptor to constrict blood vessels and increase blood pressure and heart rate.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Following bans on the herbal stimulant ephedra in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere, bitter orange has been substituted into "ephedra-free" herbal weight-loss products by dietary supplement manufacturers.<ref name="nyt">Template:Cite news</ref> Bitter orange is believed to cause the same spectrum of adverse events as ephedra.<ref name="jordan">Template:Cite journal</ref> Case reports have linked bitter orange supplements to strokes,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> angina,<ref name="pmid18700609">Template:Cite journal</ref> ischemic colitis,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and myocardial infarction.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health found "little evidence that bitter orange is safer to use than ephedra."<ref name="nccam">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Drug interactionsEdit
Bitter orange may have serious grapefruit-like drug interactions with medicines such as statins (to lower cholesterol), nifedipines (to lower blood pressure), some anti-anxiety drugs, and some antihistamines.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>