Why a Navel Orange is a Citrus Fruit For Many Choices

Fresh Navel Oranges from Florida

The Navel Orange is one of the most popular of the orange tree varietals and also one of the most unique and versatile.  Most people know that oranges have many important health benefits to humans.  Millions of people drink orange juice from navel oranges daily as a source of vitamin C, a main nutritional ingredient of navel oranges.  Vitamin C helps keep the human immune system strong, works to absorb iron in the body, helps heal wounds, and can even aid in preventing heart disease. 

Other important nutrients in navel oranges are beta-carotene, which prevents cell damage, calcium for strong, healthy bones, magnesium to maintain healthy blood pressure and potassium for cell electrolytes in balance.  The high fiber content in navel oranges can help improve cholesterol ratios in the body, which is important in controlling diabetes.  Other nutrients in navel oranges are also known to help to prevent other types of cancer as well, including stomach and esophagus cancer.  One of the best ways to get the right amount of these essential nutrients and others is to drink a fresh squeezed juice from a navel orange or to eat it right off the peel!

The navel orange is also a favorite addition to fruit salads or is used to make preserves or jams, such as the ever popular orange marmalade.  Orange oil from naval oranges is a byproduct of the orange peel which is used to flavor food and drink as well as an important ingredient for fragrance in perfumes and aromatherapy.  Orange blossoms can be dried and then used to make a delicious, aromatic tea.  Gardeners often use orange peels to repel slugs and other garden pests. 

Navel oranges are seedless, and the flesh inside is naturally very sweet and juicy, and its taste is very refreshing.  The blossom end of a navel orange looks like a human navel from the outside, which is how the fruit acquired its name.  When a neval orange is peeled, on the inside of the blossom end there is a partially formed, undeveloped conjoined “twin” fruit.  Although navel oranges are clones of a tree originally from Brazil, today they are a very important industry in the United States and grown primarily in Florida, Arizona and California.  Depending on your region of the country, fresh navel oranges are available from winter through late spring.  The kind of navel orange you should buy at the market is one that feels heavy for its size and has no soft spots, outward pitting or mold.

Essential Nutrients Make Navel Oranges One of Nature’s Most Important Foods

Red Navel Oranges, often called "Ravels"

The citrus sinesis, also known as the Navel Orange, is one of the most popular, unique and versatile of the orange tree varietals.  The navel orange can be cut open and eaten right off the peel, squeezed and drunk as a juice, a favorite addition to fruit salads, or even turned into preserves or jams, such as the ever popular orange marmalade.  Orange oil from naval oranges is a byproduct of the orange peel which is used to flavor food and drink as well as for fragrance in perfumes and aromatherapy.  Gardeners often use orange peels as a slug repellent.  Orange blossoms can be dried and then used to make a delicious, aromatic tea.

Fresh navel oranges are available from winter through late spring, depending on your region of the country.  When you go to the market, the kind of navel orange you should look for is one that feels heavy for its size and has no soft spots, outward pitting or mold. 

Navel oranges are seedless, and the flesh inside is naturally very sweet and juicy.  From the outside, the blossom end looks like a human navel.  When a naval orange is peeled, there is a partially formed, undeveloped conjoined “twin” fruit on the blossom end on the inside. 

Although navel oranges originally came from Brazil, today they are grown primarily in Florida, Arizona and California, and the navel orange cultivation industry is very important in the United States.

In addition to their sweet, refreshing taste, navel oranges are also well known and considered very important for their health benefits, especially the antioxidant vitamin C, their main nutritional ingredient.  Every morning millions of people drink orange juice from navel oranges as a source of vitamin C. 

There are other health advantages to consuming navel oranges as well.  The fiber content in navel oranges can help improve cholesterol ratios in the body.  Beta-carotene is an antioxidant found in navel oranges which helps prevent cell damage.  Other nutrients in navel oranges are also known to help to prevent other types of cancer as well, including stomach and esophagus cancer.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Navel Oranges

Red Navel Oranges, often called "Ravels"

Navel oranges are possibly the most popular of the citrus fruits in the world.

Navel Oranges get their name from the navel-like spot that is found on the blossom end of the fruit. This happens because they are connected when they first bloom - similar to conjoined twins. You can find navel oranges growing in Brazil, Florida, California and Arizona.

The navel orange is known as a Bahia Navel Orange, Washington or Riverside, but its scientific name is Citrus Sinensis. Navel oranges are a seedless fruit, so they have to be propagated from its cuttings.

The sweet taste of the natural juices in the navel orange is what makes them so popular. They can be consumed out of hand or they can be squeezed into a refreshing drink. Some place them in a juicer mixed with other fruits to make a punch. Oranges can also be used in fruit salads or turned into a jam.

The navel orange is an undeveloped fruit, which is why they come conjoined after blossoming. Depending on the region, they can be found blooming from winter through late spring. Navel oranges are known to blossom from the same tree. Farmers use the cuttings of the navel orange and periodically graft them into fresh stock. This helps to ensure they will be healthy and abundant.

The Brazilians believe there was a spontaneous mutation that occurred hundreds of years ago with the oranges because of their conjoined state at their blossom state. This supposedly occurred around 1820 - this made navel oranges a hit in various regions. Many people began to farm and produce them for the markets. The first place to cultivate these oranges was Riverside, California, which brought about one of their nicknames.

When searching for fresh oranges of this kind, it is best to get them between their seasons, between winter and late spring. At the market, you can feel them to see how heavy they are; they should feel weighty with no soft spots or molding.

A lot of people grow oranges themselves, if their regions allow them to. They make great additions to gardens and are, of course, a great healthy food source. They smell great and look great as well. The trees of the navel oranges also produce aromatic flowers. You can find these trees being sold in various nurseries around the globe. Planting them is easy and managing them isn’t too difficult.