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Mahalo's nutrition expert Kristina Jackson explains how to pick the best blood orange.
Color
There is a variety of colors for blood oranges, but you should pick the ones that have a red tint on the outside as opposed to ones that have no tint. This is a sign of freshness and means they most likely have more flavor packed into the pulp.Texture and Feel
Make sure the blood orange you select has a thin skin and is a little bit squishy to the touch. Ones with thicker skins tend to have less juice and flavor, while thin skins indicate ripeness. Paying sharp attention to skin texture is generally a good rule of thumb for citrus fruits.Also check to see there are no cracks in the skin. This means it's dried out and past its time. It won't have as much moisture as a smoother orange and won't be as fresh.
Types of Blood Oranges
Moro
This orange is the most colorful and has a flavor more intense than a regular orange. It has a distinct hint of raspberry and is more bitter than other blood orange varieties. This blood orange originated in Sicily and can range from orange to red to almost black in color.
Tarocco
This one is the sweetest of the three blood orange types and does not have as much red pigmentation as the other two. It is the most popular of the three blood orange types and is seedless unlike the other two.
Sanguinello
The flesh of this is orange with crimson streaks, and it originated in Spain. It has few seeds, and its characteristics are similar to the Moro.
Choose Wisely!
References
Meet Our Experts
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Kristina Jackson
A graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition at Columbia University, natural food chef Kristina Jackson is a certified holistic health and lifestyle consultant. She is also the editor of the blog "The Whole Idea" which, according to Jackson, "takes us on a journey to experience all that life has to offer…naturally. Clean food, good fun and healthy, conscious living."
About Blood Oranges
Blood oranges are a variety of orange with crimson-colored flesh. They're smaller than regular oranges and are known for a distinct hint of raspberry flavor. Blood oranges most likely originated in China or the Southern Mediterranean, but are now primarily grown in Italy.
