John Myers
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Citrus fruits – what exactly are they?
Citrus plants originally come from Southeast Asia. They are now grown in many regions of the world, especially in the so-called citrus belt. This is between the 20th and 40th degrees of latitude. Citrus fruits were already known in Europe before the birth of Christ.
- Plants of the genus Citrus belong to the Rutaceae family. The fruit of the citrus plant is a berry. Due to the hard shell, it is also called an armored berry.
- Citrus fruits grow on evergreen shrubs or trees. These can be over twenty meters high. The flowers of citrus plants are always white.
- The peel of citrus fruits secretes essential oils that exude the typical scent. Depending on the variety, the flesh is more or less acidic.
- Citrus plants can easily be crossed with one another. All commercially used citrus plants go back to such crossings. The fruits are roughly divided into lemons, tangerines, limes, kumquats, grapefruits, and oranges.
The most popular citrus fruits at a glance
The juice and pulp of citrus fruits are mainly used in cooking. But the peel of untreated fruit can also be used for seasoning and refinement. We introduce you to the most popular citrus fruits.
- The most well-known citrus fruit is the lemon, which used to be marketed under the name Limone. The lime is significantly smaller than this, which is green when ripe and contains significantly more juice than its yellow sister.
- Oranges are among the most commonly grown citrus fruits. They also include bitter oranges and oranges. The blood orange is a type of orange with dark red flesh.
- Mandarins are also popular and well-known. In addition to the actual tangerine, clementine is also counted among them. This comes from a cross between tangerines and oranges. The Satsuma, which is almost seedless, also comes from such a cross.
- In addition to the grapefruit, the group of grapefruit also includes the grapefruit and the pomelo. The latter was created by crossing grapefruit with grapefruit and tastes very mild.
