Despite living in California for so many years, I only learned about Valencia oranges this week.

I routinely buy wonderfully ripe oranges from my regular farmer at the farmer's market every week. Every year around a certain season, he has green oranges. I always assumed he was out of good oranges and he was forced to sell unripe ones. I always avoided his green oranges and looked elsewhere for some. This week, I needed some oranges and I had no time left to buy elsewhere. I begrudgingly bought some of his unripe oranges for my salad dressing and he explained to me that they are indeed ripe and that Valencia oranges "regreen" after picking. LIterally, they can get even greener after picking. I tried a really green orange and it was indeed sweet! I have been juicing them and loving them.

This is a quick video of my green stash this week:

[www.youtube.com]

THere are pink grapefruit that makes the peel pink, cara cara oranges that can also deepen the orange shade of the peel, blood oranges that can turn the peel a raspberry color and yes Valencia oranges that can turn the peel GREEN!

That reminds me that I once had pure green ripe heirloom tomatoes with no red in them. I haven't seen them again in years. They were some of the best tomatoes I ever had.

My friend likes Valencias because there are some seeds inside the fruit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2015 04:51PM by Tai.

I tried to look up if there are different varieties of valencias and I didn't find any. There has got to be.

Today I bought a 25 lb bag of Valencias from a different farmer. These valencias were the size of navels and they were orange with a tinge of green at the top. THey were sweet. These were normal oranges.

Just like with blood oranges, there is huge variety of them based on where and how they are grown. There are even blood navels.

Anyway, the green oranges I bought Wednesday are unusual. I am going to keep asking questions from all the Valencia growers I see.

By the way, I paid $13 for my bag today and $15 for my bag Wednesday. I know in some parts of the country, oranges sell for $1/lb and even more when they are organic. I normally buy just one bag per week.

I am embarrassed by the last video I made, so I deleted it. Anyone who saw the video heard my frustration from years of not having eaten those oranges, because I didn't know any better. I didn't know they were ripe. I just had to quickly share the discovery of ripe green oranges. Anyway, I calmed down. (My frustration arose from going to buy oranges, seeing that they were green and then having to find somewhere else to buy them. Week after week and year after year adds to increased time loss. I thought my farmer was wrong and here I just misunderstood.)

In this video, I compare the brix reading of my latest bright orange valencias to the green variety, each grown on different farms. You can see what appears to be green color overlaid on the orange.

Bright orange valencias, 8.5-8.75 brix
Green yet ripe Valencias, 13 brix

Ripeness for oranges starts at 8.5 brix.

[www.youtube.com]

The green valencias actually have more density and the bright orange valencias are more watery.

Granted the green valencias are tangier, yet sweet at the same time. I feel great medicinal value from the green valencias (lymphatic activators) and I will incorporate them into a detox.

Tai Wrote:
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> I am embarrassed by the last video I made, so I
> deleted it.

Hi Tai,

There was no need to be embarrassed by it. I watched it and it was perfectly fine. Very interesting how they are so green.

Yes, l find the key to a good orange is one that is quite solid and not too watery.

I liked the video on the flower salad. Great stuff. It reminds me l really need to post some more of my videos.

www.thesproutarian.com

I agree, I think you're overthinking it, Tai. I watched it and didn't feel as if you did anything wrong.

Today, I asked the green orange valencia farmer more about Valencias. Today he said that the color doesn't change after they are picked. He said that after they turn orange, they can turn back to green while still connected to the tree.

The second article I posted down below says that the orange can absorb chlorophyl from the tree leaves. So in colder temperatures, the orange comes through and in the heat, green comes through.

I am still a little bit in awe of the whole process. IT looks to me like the regreening appears to be a green overlay over the orange. In Chinese medicine, the colors and tastes are related to different elements and organs, so I am a bit excited about the variations in tastes, colors and affects of the fully ripe oranges, in which some are just sweet and some sweet and sour with an obvious grip on the lymph nodes and vessels.

I have used citrus a lot for many years helping people and there is always something new to learn.

[io9.com]

by Esther Inglis-Arkell

Oranges weren’t named for their color – because their color often wasn’t orange. Find out how they get their brilliant hue, why many ripe oranges have to be dyed, and why nothing in the world is what you think it is.

While the name origins of many fruits are a mystery, the orange seems like a no-brainer. It was named for it color. Actually, use of the word ‘orange’ to describe a cross between red and yellow wasn’t recorded until three hundred years after the fruit appeared in Europe. It’s thought that oranges get their name from the Sanskrit word for fragrant – naranja. And although the flesh of oranges does flare a tasty-looking orange, the skin of many oranges, especially in the ones in warmer countries, is green.

Many fruits are picked while they’re still a little green and left to ripen during transport, in the store, or just become hard little fruit-bombs in a bowl in peoples’ homes. Most green oranges, on the other hand, are perfectly ripe. By the time they turn orange they’re sliding downhill towards rot. The green skin of an orange isn’t indicating that not enough of its natural color is coming through. It’s just pumped full of chlorophyll. In warm, sunny countries, that chlorophyll stays in the fruit. It’s only when the fruit is exposed to cold that the chlorophyll dies off and the orange color shines through.

In South American countries and tropical countries near the equator, oranges stay green all year around. In the United States, oranges grown in early spring or ones that are grown in late fall turn orange naturally. Ones that only see the height of summer are usually green. To make it even more frustrating for farmers, oranges that have killed off their chlorophyll can green up once again by sucking the chlorophyll out of the leaves around them like small, tasty vampires.

Since most people associate green fruit with unripe fruit, most green oranges in the United States and Europe have to be colored to be sellable. In some cases they are exposed to ethylene gas, which breaks down chlorophyll. Some are shocked with cold, or covered in wax. Some are scrubbed down with detergent and some are just dipped in dye. Anything for a sale.

[www.thriftyfun.com]

Question:

How do I change the color from green to orange on my oranges?

Hardiness Zone: 9b

Raj from Kenya
Answer:

Hi Raj,

That's the ironic thing about oranges-they aren't always orange. Depending on the variety, sometimes oranges are green, yellow or even spotted. Temperature fluctuations are what cause oranges to change color while still on the tree. The pigment responsible for orange-colored oranges is called carotene. In order for oranges to turn orange, cooler temperatures are needed. This breaks down the chlorophyll (the green pigment) so the carotenes can show through. In climates where temperatures stay warm all of the time (Puerto Rico, Central America, South Pacific, West Africa), the oranges tend to remain green. Before being sold in the U.S., these oranges used to be coated with an orange dye to make them more attractive to consumers. This practice is no longer acceptable by the FDA, so today green oranges are exposed to ethylene gas while in storage. This removes the chlorophyll layer and allows the orange color to emerge.

Fortunately, the color of an orange has little to do with whether or not it's mature enough to eat or if it will taste good. Apples, bananas and tomatoes all naturally give off ethylene gas while ripening. It might be worth a try to store your green oranges in a cool enclosed area (like the fridge) with one or more of these fruits. Who knows, if enough gas is produced, you might see a color change.

Good luck!
Ellen

About The Author: Ellen Brown is our Green Living and Gardening Expert.

Additional useful article:
[www.thenibble.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2015 05:36AM by Tai.

Variegated Valencia Orange trees even have variegated leaves. This man's blog provides more insights on the mysteries ...

[tastylandscape.com]

This isn't breaking news, but I want to report something.

I kept two really green, yet fully ripe valencias in my fruit basket for about a month. At times, they were next to fruit, like persimmons, which I think give off gas as they ripen. Anyway, after a month or so, these green oranges turned orange. They were not any sweeter than the other valencias that I could tell, but they were orange and one had a just a smear of green left on one side.

They say the warmth makes the chlorophyll fade and likely the gas from the ripening fruit.