Natural form

A whole navel orange showing its characteristic bright orange dimpled rind and round form.

Establishes the primary visual identity — shape, size, and rind texture — so readers can recognize an orange on sight.

Produce

Orange

Sweet, juicy citrus for eating, juicing, and zesting

Bright and honeyed, oranges are a snack, a glass of juice, and a fragrant zest for cakes and sauces all in one. Keep them in the fridge to hold their juice for weeks.

The orange is sunshine in fruit form — sweet, juicy, and fragrant, eaten out of hand, squeezed for juice, or zested for a perfume that lifts both desserts and savory dishes. Its sweet-tart flesh balances bitter and salty flavors, its zest carries floral aromatic oils, and its juice glazes meats and brightens sauces. From breakfast staple to the secret note in a braise, it's endlessly useful.

Measured in: piece
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 21 days

Find it in

Produce

Types & varieties

Navel

Seedless, easy-peel, sweet; the everyday eating orange

Valencia

Juicier, a few seeds; the classic juicing orange

Blood orange

Crimson flesh, berry-like depth; winter season

Cara cara

Pink-fleshed navel, low-acid and sweet

Seville (bitter)

Sour and aromatic; the marmalade orange

How to choose

Heavy fruit holds the most juice. Want firm oranges with smooth, fine-textured skin and a fragrant blossom end. Green patches or russeting don't mean unripe — color depends on growing temperature, not sweetness.

How to store

Oranges keep about a week at room temperature and up to two to three weeks in the fridge crisper. Don't seal them in a bag where trapped moisture causes mold; let air circulate.

How to segment (supreme)

For clean, pith-free segments, slice off the top and bottom, cut away the peel and white pith following the curve, then cut between the membranes to free each wedge. Squeeze the leftover core for juice. This 'supreming' makes elegant segments for salads and desserts.

Cut off ends, then peel to the flesh
Cut between membranes for wedges
Squeeze the spent core for juice

Common uses

Fresh-squeezed juiceOrange and fennel saladMarmaladeDuck à l'orangeCitrus cakes and curdGlazes for ham and carrotsSangria and cocktailsCranberry sauce

Tips & pitfalls

Zest before juicing — and don't waste it; orange zest perfumes everything
Fresh juice oxidizes fast; drink it soon for the brightest flavor
A splash of orange juice and zest deepens braises and pan sauces
Blood oranges fade when overheated — use them where their color shows
Candy the peel or dry it for baking and cocktails

Nutrition

97kcal

Energy

406 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 6%Carbs 93%Fat 2%

Protein

1.5g

3% DV

Carbs

25g

9% DV

Fat

0.2g

0% DV

Fiber

10.6g

38% DV

Sodium

3mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin C151% DV

Calcium12% DV

Thiamin (B1)10% DV

Vitamin B610% DV

Folate8% DV

Riboflavin (B2)7% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · Orange peel, raw

View on FDC →

In the shops

Matched grocery products

Oranges
3 kg · Mercadona
€3.75
Oranges
5 kg · Mercadona
€4.75
Table Oranges
310 g · Mercadona
€0.57
Orange 1 unit
ud · Bonpreu
€0.58
Orange 1 unit
Bonpreu
€0.65
Orange 1 unit
ud · Bonpreu
€0.98

Good to know

Peak season: Winter through spring
Flavor: Sweet, juicy, lightly tart, floral zest
Origin: A hybrid (pomelo × mandarin) from East Asia
Nutrition: ~47 kcal/100g; very high vitamin C, folate, fiber
How to buy: Heavy for size, firm, fragrant; skin color isn't a ripeness guide

Substitutes