Laraha

taxobox
name = Laraha
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Sapindales
familia = Rutaceae
genus = "Citrus"
species = "Citrus aurantium" x?x "currassuviencis"|

Laraha refers to a citrus tree ("Citrus aurantium currassuviencis") that grows on the island of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, and the fruits of this tree. A relative of the orange, the fruit of the Laraha is even more bitter than their other citrus cousins and generally considered inedible.

History and use

Orange trees transplanted on Curaçao from Spain in 1527 did not take to the climate and soil of the southern Caribbean, changing the bright orange and sweet fruits into a green and inedibly bitter produce. The dried peels of the Laraha, however, were discovered to be quite pleasantly fragranced, and experimentation with the extracts of these peels led to the creation of Curaçao liqueur.

ee also

*Bitter orange

References

*cite book | first = Alan Fredric | last = Benjamin | year = 2002 | title = Jews of the Dutch Caribbean | publisher = Routledge | id = ISBN 0-415-27439-7
*cite book | first = Albert | last = Gastmann | year = 1978 | title = Historical Dictionary of the French and Netherlands Antilles | publisher = Scarecrow Press | pages = 110 | id = ISBN 0-8108-1153-7

External links

* [http://www.curacaoliqueur.com/pages/laraha.htm Information on the Laraha] , from [http://www.curacaoliqueur.com/ The Original Curaçao Liqueur]