Sweet Oranges - Juice and Other Products

Juice and Other Products

Oranges, whose flavour can vary from sweet to sour, are commonly peeled and eaten fresh or squeezed for juice. The thick bitter rind is usually discarded, but can be processed into animal feed by desiccation, using pressure and heat. It is also used in certain recipes as a food flavouring or garnish. The outermost layer of the rind can be thinly grated with a zester to produce orange zest. Zest is popular in cooking because it contains the oil glands and has a strong flavour similar to that of the orange pulp. The white part of the rind, including the pith, is a source of pectin and has nearly the same amount of vitamin C as the flesh.

Although not as juicy or tasty as the flesh, orange peel is edible and has higher contents of vitamin C and more fibre. It also contains citral, an aldehyde that antagonizes the action of vitamin A. Orange peel has been consumed particularly in environments where resources are scarce and therefore maximum nutritional value must be obtained with the minimum generation of waste (for example, on a submarine). Since large concentrations of pesticides have been found in orange peels, some organizations recommend the consumption of the peel of organically grown and processed oranges alone, where chemical pesticides or herbicides would not have been used.