The name of the fruit, translated from the Latin “pomum aurantium” means golden apple. The plant is also known as bigardia, cinotto, wild orange, Seville orange.
According to one version, the bitter orange is a natural hybrid of pomelo and tangerine trees that grew nearby and pollinated naturally. The fruit has been grown in Seville for over 800 years and is used to make marmalades, juices and syrups which are still popular today.
Orange and bitter
Bitter orange is a small evergreen tree about five meters high. Indochina is considered its homeland, from where the plant came to Western and Southwestern Asia, and then to the Mediterranean. Bitter orange fruits are similar in size to tangerines, but differ in the flattened shape of their poles, as well as thick bumpy skin. The color of bitter oranges is bright orange, and inside there is a sour, bitter pulp with pits, which will not bring any gastronomic pleasure if you want to try it, but its flowers, leaves, and stems are used everywhere - from medicine to perfumery.
More than just a citrus
Even Avicenna (980-1037) included orange juice in his recipes. Traditional Chinese medicine has used the peel or dried fruit for centuries to treat a variety of stomach ailments. In South America, bitter orange is used to treat insomnia, anxiety, and epilepsy.
Bitter orange peel is rich in valuable organic compounds that are rarely found in nature. These are ocimene, myrcene, limonene, anthranilic, phenylacetic and benzoic acids, methyl ester. Bitter orange is also valued for its cleansing properties. It has strong lymphatic drainage properties, eliminates the causes of atherosclerosis. The antispasmodic properties of the fruit successfully cope with headache attacks, migraines, muscle cramps. Bitter orange also has weak anticoagulant properties, reducing blood clotting time and preventing the formation of blood clots. Additionally, bitter orange has a choleretic, antiseptic and analgesic effect, providing an anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic effect for the human body.
The scent of hedonism
At the slightest touch to the branches, leaves or stems of bitter orange, the plant leaves an aroma on the fingers, more like a hint of expensive perfume - it is petitgrain oil, which is hunted by perfumers around the world. Leading perfume houses of the world build fragrant compositions based on bitter orange oil.