FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Try some red or pink in your orange

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Reds. That is, orange varieties with pulp that ranges from bright scarlet to a blushing pink.

Two varieties have been seen in local stores: Blood oranges, so-called because the fresh is a deep red color, and cara cara, or red navel, which has pulp the color of a fading sunset.

In fact, red-fleshed oranges aren't new. The blood orange is said to have been the result of a 17th-century mutation on Sicily (although some accounts say blood oranges existed when the fruit was brought to Italy from China in the 14th century). And the cara cara was developed at a family farm in Venezuela but has been proliferating in California orchards and home gardens since the mid 1990s.

The fruits have much in common: Both are low in acid and so quite sweet. Both remind tasters of berries, because of a well-rounded but tangy sweetness. They have a similar nutritional profile (about 70 calories apiece, 16 grams carbohydrate, most of it from sugar, and more than 100 percent of the daily Recommended Dietary Allowance of vitamin C). Both are most widely available in early winter — blood oranges continue December through June but cara cara are generally around only through March. Most are seedless. These aren't particularly large oranges. Three fruits generally equal a pound. And both make a rather dramatic statement at the table.

Blood oranges have been around for hundreds of years and are prized both for their beauty and their berry-like flavor. Chefs love them. You'll find recipes for sauces, salad dressings, sorbets, marmalades, compotes, even dried in teas and juiced to make fruity spiked drinks. There are several varieties. Tart ones are used in sauces and dressings in the same way that tart lemon or pomegranate juice might be.

You may be told, as I was by someone handing out samples, that cara cara is a cross between grapefruit and oranges, but — despite the taste resemblance to pink grapefruit — this is not the case. Some sources indicate that cara cara was a "limbsport," a particular kind of mutation or genetic accident. Others that it is likely a cross between the Washington and Brazilian Bahia navel varieties. The name means "dear one" in Italian, but is the name of the Venezuelan farm where the variety first appeared. The cara cara is the small, golden-headed hawk of Venezuela's plains. In any case, the fruit is proliferating because consumers like its perky flavor and chefs appreciate its romantic name and interesting color.

The same selection and storage techniques apply as with all citrus: Look for fruit that is firm and heavy for its size. Sniff for fragrance. Store in refrigerator for up to a week or at room temperature for a day or two (unless you live in air-conditioning, or at a high elevation where the room is naturally cool).

I saw blood oranges in several stores around New Year's Day, and Rainforest (a Ward Centre flower shop) brought in a few cases early this week for Chinese New Year (the golden rind means money and the reddish flesh means luck in Chinese cosmology). Last week, Safeway was selling cara cara at an introductory special of 99 cents a pound. If your grocery store doesn't have these, ask the produce manager to bring some in.