- Cherry Orange
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Cherry Orange compared with larger varieties of orange.
Cherry Orange (Citrus kinokuni ex Tanaka) is a very small citrus fruit, a variety of the Mandarin group which is found in Southern China and also grown in Japan where it is known as 'Kishu mandarin' きしゅうみかん (紀州蜜柑). Cherry Orange is also called Nanfeng Orange in China. It is shaped like an orange, between 25 and 50mm in diameter. The orange’s golden skin is thin and smooth. Its texture is almost seedless, tender, sweet and extremely juicy. Cherry Orange is known as the "Emperor’s delicacy" as emperors and nobles of China considered it a sweet delicacy, it is also popular as a packed lunch extra in Japan due to its tiny size and ease of peeling.
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History
The Cherry Orange first developed naturally in a wild and exotic forest of Southern China where the quality of water and soil is excellent. Man began cultivating it 1300 years ago. It became a fruit produced solely for the Chinese royalty. As the Cherry Orange production was mainly for the Emperors pleasure, its existence was little known outside of Asia. Even today, it remains a favoured delicacy of the central Chinese government, who recently ranked the Cherry Orange as one of the best fruits in China.
For the first time consistently the Cherry Orange was made available in Europe in 2006. It was first imported by Uniagro, a Swiss company, and it is now distributed throughout Europe with the collaboration of Special Fruit, a Belgium based fruit and vegetable distributor.
Taste
The Cherry Orange is very sweet and offers a high percentage of vitamins C. The fruit is enveloped in a thin skin (0,11 cm) and has 7–19 sections. They are primarily seedless.
Cultivation
The Cherry Orange trees are treated with healthy organic fertilizer. They produce beautiful flowers which bloom in April. Cherry Oranges only grow to a size of 25–45 mm and are harvested every November. Each tree produces about 40 kilograms of fruit per year. Cherry Oranges are handled with great care to protect the fruit epidermis from being damaged.
Peeling method
A Cherry Orange is peeled by taking it in both hands with thumb nails at the top and gently breaking it in two. Then the skin is peeled away.
Gallery
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Cherry Orange logo
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Cherry Orange
External links
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