Orlando Citrus: The Orange Heritage Food Guide

Orlando citrus is the story of a city that once sat at the center of Florida's orange industry before the groves moved south. Long before theme parks, the Golden Era of the late nineteenth century made Orlando the hub of citrus, and the fruit still shows up in juice, desserts and sauces across the region.

You can taste that history today, from the juice on a breakfast menu to citrus in cooking, and a few notes keep your favorites straight.

What is Orlando citrus heritage?

Wikipedia says that during the Golden Era of the late nineteenth century Orlando was the hub of Florida's citrus industry. A great freeze in the 1890s destroyed many groves, and the industry consolidated under a few large growers who moved operations south toward the Lake Wales area.

Today the city is known for tourism instead, with millions of visitors a year, but the old orange economy left its mark on names and on the table. The county around the city is Orange County, and fruit stands, juice bars and menus with orange-based sauces are common reminders.

Citrus is still big business in the state, though not in this corner of it. Counties farther south, such as DeSoto, Polk and Highlands, now grow most of Florida's citrus, and oranges are the largest part of the crop.

How did orange juice become Florida's drink?

Orange juice is Florida's official state beverage. After World War II, the federal government, the Florida Department of Citrus and scientists developed frozen concentrated orange juice, and Florida plants soon turned out concentrate by the million gallons. Ready-to-serve reconstituted juice and not-from-concentrate juice followed in later decades.

Most of the commercial orange crop goes to processing, mostly for juice, which explains why fresh oranges at a table can feel like a treat. On a breakfast menu, ask whether the juice is squeezed to order, poured from a carton or mixed from concentrate. None is wrong. The answer tells you what you are paying for.

What is citrus greening, and why is Florida citrus under pressure?

A disease called citrus greening, spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, has caused billions of dollars in losses, according to Wikipedia. Citrus acreage has shrunk over the years. After Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, Florida's 2022 to 2023 orange crop was about 15.85 million boxes, down from about 41.2 million in an earlier season, the worst in nearly a century.

For a diner, this means fresh Florida oranges are a smaller crop than they once were. Menus that say Florida citrus may be telling the truth about a limited supply. Ask what a place means by the phrase, and enjoy the fruit for what it is.

What does citrus taste like on an Orlando menu?

Citrus appears at all meals. At breakfast it is juice, a grapefruit half or a fruit cup. At lunch it shows up in a vinaigrette, a salsa or a marinade, and in a Cuban or Puerto Rican kitchen, in a sour orange or lime mojo for pork or yuca. At dinner, a glaze, a butter sauce or a relish uses it to brighten fish. Dessert brings pies, sorbets and cakes.

Learn to taste the fruit in a dish. Sweet orange is rounded and mild. Grapefruit is sharp and a little bitter. Lime is clean and sour. If a sauce tastes flat, a squeeze of lemon often helps, and if it tastes sharp, a little salt or sugar balances it. Try the same fruit in two forms, such as a fresh orange and a glass of juice, and notice how squeezing and storing change the sweetness and the bitterness. Writing these impressions down helps you notice what you like.

When is the best time to eat citrus in Florida?

Florida citrus is a cooler-weather harvest, and different varieties ripen at different times, so ask a fruit stand or check with the Florida Department of Citrus. Fresh fruit stands usually sell what is ready, and they can tell you what is in season. Ask a stand about the variety and how the fruit is best eaten, as a juicing orange, a peeling orange or a sweet one for dessert.

How do you keep a citrus tasting diary with Mosey?

Open the Mosey app after a breakfast or a dessert and rate the dish itself. A place and stars are required. Write what you tasted, such as sharp, floral, fresh squeezed, and add a tag and a photo if they help. Tag the people you ate with so they can add their own ratings.

Start a list called Orange country and invite a friend by link to add theirs. Follow friends to see what they rated and saved. The ratings page explains how rating a dish works.

Where else can you read about Orlando?

Read the International Drive guide for the tourist corridor, the vegetarian guide for Caribbean and Latin menus and the finding good food guide for the city as a whole. Browse the Orlando page, the Florida page and the US food guides.

On your next fresh-squeezed glass, open the Mosey app, rate it by name and add it to a list.