Buying the Perfect Blood Orange

Moros and Sanguinellos Are Two Tasty Varieties Now Available

Feb 20, 2009

Of all winter fruits, only the blood orange commands a history as rich as its deep purple color---and yet stymies even the best of well-intentioned buyers.

Time and culture have rescued blood oranges from a life of crime (desperate orange growers in the 19th century would inject dye into regular oranges to pass them off as exotic bloods), and ushered us in to the Greenmarket epoch where bloods routinely turns heads and tingle taste buds this time of year. Names of varietals such as "Moro," Tarocco," "Sanguinello" and "Maltas" roll off the tongues of buyers and sellers, educating passerby into winter's favored parlance.

But buying a good one---and then figuring out how to best utilize it if you don't intend to simply eat it raw--can be a tricky proposition.

To-Moro You Go

"I like the deep-red Moros for the color," exclaims noted cookbook author and former Chez Panisse chef David Lebovitz, who now lives in Paris. Lebovitz takes a purist's approach, advising "when you have something that's so good on its own, you should do as little to it as possible, and exploit what's already there." To wit, his blood orange sorbet, "which is nothing more than freshly squeezed blood orange with some sugar added." That is, until his newfound inner Francophile compels him to add a dusting of champagne, "The slightly tangy taste of the blood orange juice with champagne is divine."

Beware the Italian Cold Storage Factor

The tastiest bloods are from Italy. But since they have to spend two weeks in cold storage to kill pests before being sold in the US, freshly harvested California bloods actually have the edge. "The best have flesh that is either medium burgundy in color, or lightly streaked with red." However, beware of the super dark bloods warns noted fruit and citrus authority David Karp, AKA “the fruit detective.” "Though dramatic, these super dark fruits usually have lost so much acidity that they taste flat, and also tend to develop an unpleasant aroma."

Great in Marmalade

Rewind to when the flavor peaks, right about mid February to late March, and prepare for transcendence. Lebovitz recalls blood orange gelato in Italy during the December-March harvest. That's also when High Street brands such as Australia's Maggie Beer offer their intense blood orange marmalade. Beer summarizes best by saying, "Sweet Blood Orange Marmalade is very much a marmalade to bridge the gap between aficionados and those without a bitter palate. Tangy and ruby-sweet all at once, it is the perfect way to rediscover marmalade."

Don't Forget the Chocolate!

Lest blood oranges escape total decadence, there is Kee Ling Tong of Kees Chocolates, a lilliputian, artesianal chocolate shop in New York's SoHo. The shop draws the celebrated, the ordinary and card-carrying chocolate heat seekers the world over. Her siren song: blood orange green tea macaroons and a blood orange truffle infused with jasmine. Tong downplays the duo's rock star status, though quietly demurs, "People do ask for them."

So too Sicilians, who prefer their blood oranges after a hearty winter secondi. They eat them plain, with their hands, a nod to nature at the peak of perfection.

The copyright of the article Buying the Perfect Blood Orange in Artisan Produce is owned by Neal Turnage. Permission to republish Buying the Perfect Blood Orange in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.