Orange blossom
Orange blossom: Bitter orange, the ancestor of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis), is too acid to be eaten raw but gives a very good, typically British marmalade. The zest and blossom are mainly used. The zest produces bitter or sweet liqueurs (Curacao, cointreau), "tonics" as well as bitter orange essence. Its blossom, after distillation, produces bitter orange neroli oil (an essential oil used in perfumery) and above all orange blossom water indispensable in Middle Eastern and North African pastries. It is also used to make orangeat. The leaves produce a third essential oil: petit-grain oil which is used in perfumery and to enhance certain flavours in the flood-processing industry.
In Mexico, the fruit are eaten with salt and plenty of chilli. In Egypt, the juice is used to make a wine.
Etymology :
- Bigarade: from the provençal bigarrado (bitter orange and cherry variety) and bigarra (bigarré) - which also gives bigarreau (cherry) and the verb bigarrer (used to describe a fruit that is ripe on one side - like an orange - and all things multicoloured).
- Citrus: Latin noun designating the citron tree (citrus medica) and the cedar.
- Agrume: from the Latin acrumen (acid fruit)acer (bitter, sour).
History
Its origin is not precisely known, probably eastern India and China. Bitter orange grows in the wild in the Himalayas. It was grown in China from the second century BC.
It is certainly wrongfully associated with the Gardens of Hesperides and its "golden apples", as, at that time, orange trees had not yet reached Ancient Europe. The golden apples could have been peaches or apricots which had already arrived from China. However, the term "Hesperides" remains tied to citrus fruit, both in botany and perfumery.
Unknown to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, like sweet orange, bigarade was known in Ancient India. They called it nagaruanga (which gave the term "orange"). It spread throughout the Middle East, reaching Sicily in the eleventh century. Arab merchants introduced it to Spain circa 1000 at the same time as the distillation technique used to obtain neroli oil.
In the seventeenth century, Anne Marie La Tremoille, princess of Nerola, introduced the world to this fragrant essence and that of bergamot. This oil was named after her: Neroli oil. These essences were to be introduced in France by the Italians.
Rapidly, bitter orange trees were given shelter across Europe: in orangeries. The Orangerie of Versailles - built circa 1685 - sheltered a famous bitter orange tree: the Grand-Connétable. Sown in 1412 in Pamplona, it died in 1858 in Versailles after having lived 100 years in Chantilly then Fontainebleau.
The bitter orange tree is now grown across the Mediterranean but it has been dethroned by the sweet orange tree (Citrus sinensis) which was introduced by Portuguese navigators in the sixteenth century. In that same century, the bitter orange tree crossed the Atlantic.
Beliefs
- In China, offering bitter oranges to a young woman symbolises a marriage proposal
- In Vietnam, oranges are given to young couples
In Europe, thanks to their scent, bitter orange blossom has replaced branches of myrtle for bridal bouquets, even though the former were dedicated to Aphrodite as their large number of seeds symbolised fecundity…
Virtues
- Essential oil of leaves (Petitgrain oil): sedative - recommended to children and stomatic
- Orange water: treatment for palpitations and insomnia
- Bitter orange essence: anti-spasmodic
- "White skin" is haemostatic
The plant
Citrus aurantium ssp. amara (L.) Engl.
Rutaceae family like lemon, orange, bergamote, makrut, sechuan pepper, curry-leaf.
Shrub measuring 4 to 5 metres high.
Its branches are covered in spines measuring up to 8 cm long.
The leaves are oval and lance-shaped, glossy and tough with a slightly winged petiole.
It flowers in June and its thick petals are white and waxy.
The fruit are orange berries with an uneven skin measuring 7 to 6 cm in diameter with flesh separated into 10 to 12 segments.
Hybrids of Citrus aurantium ssp. amara:
- Avec Citrus limonium (lemon) : Citrus X.bergamia
- Citrus reticulata (mandarin orange): mandarin orange
Citrus sinensis - - the orange obtained by selection and successive cross-overs in China
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