Oranges

Oranges from Valencia, freshly cutOranges from our own fields in the Ribera del Xúquer, picked by hand the day your order is prepared. They never see a cold store or a distribution centre: from the tree to the box, and from the box to your home within 24-48 hours. It’s the same orange people eat here in Valencia when they go out to the fields for it.The varieties and their monthsThe season isn’t one single orange for nine months: it’s varieties handing over to one another, and each has its own character.Navelina opens the season in November and runs to January. It’s the table orange par excellence, easy to peel and low in acidity. Salustiana comes in during December and lasts until March, and from January to March Navel, Navelate and Sanguinelli overlap. Lane Late takes over from February to May, with more juice and a little more acidity; Powell, Barnfield and Chislett run from March to June, and Valencia Late closes the season from April to July: the latest of them all and the best yielding for juice, with an edge of acidity that many people consider the real taste of an orange.Outside those months you won’t see them in the shop. In August, September and October there are no Valencian oranges to cut: the tree is swelling next season’s fruit.For eating or for juiceAll of them do both. If you’re eating them in segments, the early-season Navelina is the most rewarding; if you juice every morning, the Valencia Late yields more per piece. A 15 kg box has plenty of orange for both.How to tell it’s tree fruitThree details give it away. First, the size: within the same box there are large and small pieces, because they aren’t graded for a display. Second, the peel: without wax it doesn’t shine, and it may have marks or a greener patch even when the orange is perfectly ripe — skin colour depends on cold nights, not on ripeness. And third, the leaf: sometimes one turns up in the box.How long they keepWith no post-harvest treatment, they keep less well than supermarket fruit. Somewhere cool, dry and airy they hold up for several days; if the room is warm, the bottom of the fridge is better. Don’t pile them up, and check the box every so often: one damaged piece spoils its neighbours.If you’re going to make juice, bear in mind that a freshly cut orange gives more liquid than one that has been stored for weeks, so you’ll probably need fewer pieces than you’re used to.Formats and deliveryAll our fruit comes in 15 kg boxes. Everything is picked the day we prepare your order and leaves our warehouse in Albalat de la Ribera straight for your door, with no warehouses or distribution centres in between. Delivery takes 24-48 hours in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands; for now we don’t reach the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla.If you want several things in one delivery, order them together and tell us in the order notes how much of each you’d like. And if anything arrives in poor condition, write to us and we’ll sort it out: we work with fresh produce and the journey sometimes takes its toll.