For over 50 years Florida has become synonymous for its oranges, perhaps in part because Navel oranges from Florida are the most commonly sold variety in US grocery stores. Oranges are a type of berry, actually originating in Southeast Asia and were eventually cultivated in China. In many European languages the orange is known as ‘China’s apple’ or ‘the Chinese apple’.
Christopher Columbus is credited with bringing the orange tree to North America in 1493, but Ponce de Leon planted the first orange tree in St. Augustine, Florida about 100 years later. The plant did well in the subtropical climate, and continues to flourish in the unique sandy soil found on the Florida panhandle. There are many varieties of oranges grown for the market today. Some of the most popular are the Navel, Hamlin Pineapple, Ambersweet and Valencia. A particularly sought after kind of orange is the Honeybell or Tangelo. It is a hybrid of the tangerine and Pomelo, dark orange and when fully grown can be size of an adult male’s fist. The Honeybell has a sweeter taste than other oranges, and is very juicy. The juice of the Tangelo is so much so that there is not much meat, making it an ideal fruit for juicing.
In Asia the orange was a symbol of love, happiness and even spiritual purity. The people of Japan believed the citrus blossom was a symbol of chastity, while the ancient Romans used it was a symbol of fertility and fruitfulness. It was not uncommon for royal families to build their gardens or courtyards centered around citrus trees. Arab women used the juice of oranges to color their gray hair and make cosmetics. Greek mythology tells of the Hesperides tending a beautiful garden near the Atlas mountains at the far corner of the world. In the garden were a host of citrus trees that the Hesperides protected as the being the primary food of the gods. But the citrus fruit seduced Hercules to the point of stealing it from the garden.
Unlike most other fruits and vegetables, citrus is harvested when they are ripe. After picking they will not continue to ripen like strawberries and bananas. Hand picking is the only way to harvest oranges as machinery will bruise the fruit. The same is true if allowing it to simply drop to the ground when ripe. Citrus pickers carefully pick and place the fruit in canvas bags, which are then loaded into customized vehicles called ‘goats’. These goats are designed to safely drive between the rows of trees without damaging root systems or touch overhanging branches. After being taken from the grove to the waiting tractor trailers, and if it is for fresh consumption, the fruit is hauled to packinghouses for washing and grading. It the citrus is for juice, the tractor trailer hauls its load to a processing plant for juice extraction.
Today there are about 569,000 acres of citrus groves in Florida and about 75 million trees, producing a $9 billion market share. Those numbers were starkly different in 1894 when region produced about six million boxes of fruit annually. However that winter brought the first wave of The Great Freeze, a cold December in 1894 that destroyed much of the citrus crop in Florida. That which was not destroyed grew new shoots, only to be killed by a second freeze in February of 1895. That year the orange yield was only 100,000 boxes and did not rise past the one million mark until the spring of 1901. After The Great Freeze, farmers opted to replant their groves further south, in hopes of avoiding another freeze. The strategy proved to be fruitful, until 1957 when the first big freeze of the 20th century hit. Central Florida was hit hard, but growers persevered and the market recovered quickly. Three years later hurricane Donna punished central Florida once again, destroying between 35% and 50% of the orange crop. More and more growers moved their operations south after the hurricane, leaving many groves abandoned. Another freeze, almost 100 years after the first one, hit central Florida in 1989. Almost the entire citrus industry in the region was wiped out, driving the last of the growers to the south.
Florida has long been known for its citrus fruit, particularly the orange. But not many know the hardship and destruction citrus growers have had to endure over the years. Each time you visit the grocery store, or go on vacation to Florida, consider the history and perseverance that has gone into the orange juice you drink each morning.
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