Maria Allen
An orange is a fruit that grows on a fruit tree. In Northern Germany, they are also called “orange”. The color orange is named after this fruit. The largest orange plantations are in Brazil and the USA. However, most of the oranges from our supermarkets come from Spain. It is the most-grown citrus fruit in the world.
The orange belongs to the genus of citrus plants. Orange peels are white on the inside and are inedible. It must be peeled off before eating. The trees on which the oranges grow to keep their leaves all year round and can grow up to ten meters high. Various products can be made from the orange. Their squeezed juice is sold as orange juice. Perfume is made from the scent of orange peel. Tea is made from dried orange peel.
Originally, the orange that we can buy in the supermarket did not exist in nature. It is a cross between two other fruits: the tangerine and the grapefruit, also known as grapefruit. This crossbreed originally comes from China.
Why do people drink orange juice?
Actually, there is no tradition of squeezing oranges and drinking juice. It’s better to eat the orange instead. But during World War II, US Army leaders wanted soldiers to get enough vitamin C. Eventually, orange juice was invented as a concentrate: all you had to do was add water and stir, and you had a drink.
In the aftermath, large quantities of oranges were grown, especially in the state of Florida. The orange juice concentrate was cheap and it was advertised a lot. Later, orange juice was invented, which could be kept longer without concentration. To make it taste good, the manufacturers also put flavorings into it.
So orange juice became a drink you drank at breakfast. Advertisements and the US government said the juice was very healthy. Today, however, scientists doubt it. Because orange juice also contains a lot of sugar, similar to lemonade.