The Spanish legacy of fruit: the Moors and the orange

Who introduced the orange in Spain?

Civilizations prior to the Moors had seen the introduction of the orange in Spain and its cultivation had already begun in many areas of Asia. The Romans had also cultivated them in the conquered areas of Africa. However, when the Empire fell in the 5th century and looting began, trade between the continents and Europe failed to see orange. It was reintroduced by the Moors centuries after they overthrew the unpopular rule of the Visigoths in Spain.

Their advanced irrigation techniques (as mentioned in “The Influence of the Moors on Spanish Life”) helped them to populate the groves with the fruit described by Greek legend as the “golden apple” given to Hera on the day of her marriage to Zeus. The name of this famous fruit derives from the Moorish Sanskrit word “Narangah” and evolved into the English word “orange” used today.

How many different types of orange are there?

There are two scientific classifications of orange that can be divided into bitter and sweet. The bitter orange is the fruit first introduced by the Moors and is better known today as the Seville orange. The bitter orange is not an edible fruit and in Moorish times it was mainly used for religious, marital and medicinal purposes, as well as to flavor beverages. Today this orange is mainly exported to Great Britain, where it is used to make jam based on a recipe that first appeared in a cookbook in 1587. There is very little jam made in Spain.

What are the most common varieties?

It was Christopher Columbus and the conquistadors who introduced the orange to the New World more than five centuries ago. The Valencia variety is one of the sweetest and this fruit, in addition to Spain, is also grown in the US and South America for processing into juice – one of America’s stock traded staples. Navel oranges are a mutated species and this variety was discovered in Brazil and is specifically unique due to its shape. El Sanguin – the blood orange is most common in Spain and Italy and is commonly used to make juices, as well as being enjoyed as a whole fruit.

What health benefits does orange contain?

The orange has many good things, packed with vitamin C, ascorbic and folic acid, vitamin B6, antioxidants, pectin (which is also extracted from apples), and dietary fiber, as well as many minerals.

Vitamin C along with these other properties can prevent free radical damage that can cause cancer within the body. It can also reduce the effects these radicals have in inciting asthma, rheumatism, and osteoarthritis. Antioxidants dissolve cholesterol buildup and delay serious health problems like heart attacks and strokes. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, cholera and diabetes can also be prevented, as well as reducing the anxiety of gallstones.

The healthiest part of the orange is found in the peel (epicarp), which is often discarded in the juicing process. Well-cleaned oranges can be grated and the zest can be used to flavor many different types of food preparation. There are plenty of tasty recipes on the internet that use this long-overlooked part of the fruit – an ideal way to get the vitamin C content you need, as well as tempt your taste buds with added flavor. Some alcohol brands also use the zest in their liqueurs.

How do you grow an orange?

Unlike the olive tree that is written about in my other article “The Romans and the Olive Tree”, the orange tree is not as robust and is susceptible to many diseases, as well as frost, so a careful knowledge of the crop. Also, most commercial oranges shipped globally must be able to survive the journey and the hardiest versions are those that come from grafted trees.

The seeds of these trees are produced on established seedlings (rootstocks) and then grafted onto a bud of an existing tree that determines the variety. This farming method also helps selective breeding such as tree size, productivity and sustainability. However, this does affect quality, but it does produce oranges that would otherwise be unavailable to those countries that cannot produce them.

Apart from juice, jam and whole fruit, what else can we use an orange for?

These are the most commonly used forms of an orange, the flower is used for perfume and to make tea in Spain. Beehives located in orange groves can give honey its characteristic flavor. The wood of the orange tree is used to make sticks called cuticle removers for manicurists, as well as to flavor barbecues by burning it as fuel. The bark can also be used as a slug repellant.