Regardless of whether you prefer fruits over vegetables or the other way around, the fact of the matter is that oranges are some of the most delicious and versatile products you’ll ever get to eat during your lifetime. Just like bananas.
If you’re one of the few people out there that hasn’t eaten an orange before, you should know that you’re greatly missing out on what could be one of the best fruits out there. We also mentioned how versatile this fruit is, mostly in the fact that you can do so much with it. You can turn it into orange juice, marmalade or even marinade.
Regardless of how you like your fruits, the fact of the matter is that oranges are some of the most unique tasting and most unique looking aliments that you’ll ever come across.
But, one thing that many people don’t know about oranges is definitely the fact that there are plenty of types of oranges out there with the majority of them actually being vastly different from one another.
So, in this short article we will be discussing 15 types of orange that you can buy from the store right now and test out for yourself. Depending on the type of orange that you go for you may very well find the taste and flavor to be either very enjoyable or completely repulsive.
But anyways, let’s jump right into the first type of orange that we have to talk about for today, aka:
Trifoliate Oranges
Despite the fact that most people out there have not actually taste tested one of these before, we would still recommend trying them out at least once during your lifetime simply because of how unique tasting they can be.
Unlike the typical orange, these trifoliate oranges are quite a lot smaller than you’d think. Because of this, they’re pretty much solely used to make marmalade, although there are quite a lot of people out there that prefer to eat them raw as well.
Taste wise they’re considered to be a bit downier, or fuzzier if you will. Because of this most people avoid them although we’d still recommend giving them a try once.
Bergamot Oranges
As opposed to most oranges out there, you can instantly tell which one the bergamot orange is simply based on its color. While most oranges are, well, orange, bergamot oranges are a lot greener, or yellowish in some instances.
For the most part, bergamot oranges are also a bit more bitter which is why a lot of people also refer to them as “the Lime Oranges”.
Regardless, they make for a great addition to tea, with the Earl Grey tea being definitely one of the most popular choices out there.
This specific type of orange is also known for its extremely healthy and delicious peel which can be used in a lot of recipes out there to give them that special “sweet yet sour” taste that most of us want from cakes and pies and whatnot.
Satsuma Oranges
Satsuma oranges are extremely delicious and full of healthy nutrients that your body needs to survive. Although they can be quite hard to come by, we still recommend taking the extra mile of looking for them when looking for a good addition to your recipe.
They are very easy to peel and most importantly seedless, meaning that they make for a great tasty snack and on top of that they can easily be squeezed and used for their juices as well.
On top of all of that they’re also incredibly sweet which makes them very popular for children and adults with the sweet-tooth complexion.
Pineapple Oranges
By far one of the rarest oranges out there, the pineapple oranges are pretty much the only oranges out there that can be peeled off the same way you would a pineapple, which is where they get their name from.
For the most part, you won’t be able to find one out there, but when you do, we recommend getting a whole batch for yourself and your family because their taste is literally one of the most unique out there.
Jaffa Oranges
Jaffa oranges are especially tasty, although they can be quite annoying to peel off because of their thick skin. Regardless, if you can get past that aspect of theirs, we highly recommend using them in your recipes or just eating them raw because they’re quite sensationally tasty.
They get their name from the place they’re cultivated from, aka Jaffa, a city from Israel. For the most part, you will not find them originating from anywhere else on this planet.
Tangelo Oranges
The funniest part about the Tangelos is that most people don’t even know whether they count as oranges or not. This is because these special oranges are literally just a hybrid between a tangerine and a pomelo.
You can instantly tell whether you’re dealing with a tangelos orange or not based on that massive nipple that it has poking out from its bottom.
Their skin is also incredibly hard to peel all things considered, but once you’re past that part you are pretty much welcomed to consume the juicy and incredibly sweet insides to your heart’s content.
Most people actually prefer to consume them raw although we also recommend going for the juicing option as well. You can get your hands on a Tangelos orange anytime during December through March.
So, although quite difficult to peel compared to the other options on this list, we would still argue that it is well worth the effort considering its ripe and sweet taste.
Clementine Oranges
This right here is probably one of the most famous type of orange out there with the exception of our final mention. Why? Simply look at them, they are adorable and on top of that they’re also incredibly easy to peel and very tasty as well.
They are a lot more compact than most other oranges out there, but they more than make up for it with just how easy they are to peel.
The clementine orange is a cross between the willowleaf mandarin orange and the typical sweet orange. Because of this, the clementine orange makes for one of the most unique flavors and quite honestly one of our personal favorite snacks wherever we go.
The taste is often times referred to as honey-like and thanks to its extremely low-acidity level, it makes for a great addition to the typical fruit salad by not overpowering the taste of the whole meal.
Tangerine Oranges
Despite the fact that most people wouldn’t necessarily refer to tangerines as oranges, let’s be honest here, after taking a glance at one you can instantly see why people would have troubles distinguishing between one another.
Essentially, tangerines are the close cousin of the clementine oranges, although we do have the major difference between the two as the clementine oranges are technically seedless whole tangerines are pretty much full of seeds altogether.
Also, tangerines are quite small, which is why most people think that they shouldn’t count as oranges. Regardless of what you personally believe, we can safely say that they’re delicious and they make for a great addition to salads, drinks and of course, any other baked goods out there that you see fit.
Mandarin Oranges
Yet another one of those “take it with a grain of salt” picks, sure, mandarins are not technically oranges to begin with, but most people would still refer to them as such simply because of how much they resemble oranges in the first place.
Even so, mandarin oranges are just downright delicious and on top of that they’re also very easy to peel and sweet.
This makes them a top pick for most baking goods, salads or even snacks altogether. Just make sure that you get them from January to May only, since getting them during any other time period is often times going to result in them not being anywhere near as flavorful as they would usually be during that period.
We also recommend getting them in canned form, simply because they keep the tastiness all year round.
Lima Oranges
While definitely some of the best oranges you can find out there, we highly recommend that you stock up on them when you see them at your local shop simply because they’re so rarely ever available.
They are often times referred to as the acid-less oranges and most often times you’ll find the consumers to specifically go after them because of their incredibly sweet taste and their minimal acidity level.
The only real problem with them is definitely the fact that they have rather thick peels and quite a lot of seeds as well, making them better for raw snacking than for baking for example. Regardless, most people prefer them over any other oranges because of their soft and tender texture and obviously, we can’t forget about their juiciness as well.
But, while their lack of acidity is definitely enticing to say the least, this also makes for their downfall as thanks to this they can only be kept on the shelves for a very short period of time. This also makes them the type of oranges that you need to consume right away since they’ll usually go bad within a couple of days after you bought them.
Even so, we recommend going for them if you can find them at your local shop. Make sure to check up on them from late winter to early spring since that’s when they’re in season.
Seville Oranges
Commonly referred to as the “Bitter Oranges”, this is one of those types of oranges that you either instantly fall in love with or you simply put cannot stand.
We personally believe that every orange deserves a chance so we’re definitely more than happy to add them to our meals at any time, but there are definitely quite a few food critics that would say otherwise.
Regardless, if you’re willing to give the sourness a try, you’ll also find them to be very tasty as they still have a sweet aftertaste that follows as soon as you take a chomp out of one.
Most people actually don’t know this but you can use their peels for flavoring marinades too. But beware, they’re very acidic so most people don’t really like eating them raw and instead prefer to use them as additions to their meals.
You can find them anywhere from December to February, and you can use them to flavor any meal, including fish and pork marinades or just about any fruit salads out there.
Blood Oranges
For as gruesome as they sound, blood oranges are nowhere near as gory or violent as you’d be inclined to believe simply off of their name alone. In fact, their name actually doesn’t come from their affinity for the arena battles, but more so because of their innards’ color.
If you can get past their “metal” name, you will find them to be incredibly juicy and sweet, amongst the sweetest out there for sure. You can find one out of three subtypes of blood oranges out there, and they are the following: Moro, Sanguinello and Tarocco.
You can easily tell them apart by simply taste testing them. Depending on their sweetness you can instantly tell the difference between each of them. They make for a great addition to desserts and you can also eat them raw if you want to. We highly recommend trying to juice them as well, since their juice is amongst the most unique out of all oranges out there.
For the most part you’ll find them all around the shop isle from late fall all the way through winter. Taste wise they’re very similar to raspberries, although they don’t stray too far off from the typical orange flavor.
Valencia Oranges
If you solely want the orange for the orange juice then we highly recommend going for a fresh batch of Valencia oranges. You can instantly tell if you’re dealing with Valencia oranges mainly thanks to their incredibly thin skins and the abundance of juice that you can get from them.
You will be getting the most juice from these oranges, and according to many people out there, the taste is also one of the most flavorful out of the bunch.
Just beware, you might not want to go for this orange if you want to avoid the seeds altogether. This has a ton of seeds inside and although they’re not a deal breaker for most, they can still be quite annoying to deal with if this bothers you.
Cara Cara Oranges
But hey, if the Valencia orange was good but not sweet enough for you then you should definitely go ahead and check out the Cara Cara orange instead.
This specific type of orange is very famous for its low acidity and that aforementioned sweetness which is definitely appealing to a lot of people out there. Because of this it makes for one of the best snacks out there, but we also recommend keeping it for its juice as well.
You can easily recognize them from the fact that they are reddish on the inside, which is all based on the fact that this specific type of orange is a cross between the navel orange and the blood orange.
Their taste has often times been referred to as a cross between berries and cherries with the typical navel orange flavor in the background
If you’ve ever bought a batch of oranges from your usual store then chances are that you’ve eaten your fair share of navel oranges during your lifetime. This is because they are by far the most common types of orange that you’ll ever get out there. You can easily recognize them from the fact that they have that mark at their bottom which many people have referred to as a belly button.
They make for a great addition to other recipes such as cakes and pies but they are also especially delicious on their own. They also have one of the sweetest juices so you definitely need to check that aspect of theirs out as well.
You can usually find them everywhere you look around November through June, although you can also find them in other seasons albeit a bit less tasty since they’re a bit older and out-of-season.
They also make for a great addition to grilled fish, so if that sounds good for you then definitely give it a try.
Conclusion
So, in conclusion, what else can we say other than thank you for reading and we hope that you now know which type of orange to get the next time you have a craving for one and you see a whole plethora of oranges to pick from at the shop.
While some are definitely sweeter than others, it all depends on the person’s individual tastebuds so definitely take everything we said about the taste with a grain of salt. At the end of the day there is no “supreme orange”, it’s all about what you personally see as the most tasty one of the bunch.
