Ingredient Tue Feb 13 2007

Luscious Blood

Despite all the hysteria after the deep freeze in southern California a few months ago, as of yet I have noticed no real shortage of citrus fruit in my local Jewel. In fact, a few weeks ago I purchased an entire sack of navel oranges for a decent price. The bright orange skin of most of the oranges was clearly visible through the mesh of the sack, except for the one orange that had been wrapped in a piece of waxed tissue paper. I assumed this packaging was nothing but a marketing gimmick, but a few days later, when I grabbed the wrapped orange from the fridge, I was surprised to find a deeply blushed skin beneath the paper.

After smoothing out the wrapper and reading the writing printed on it, I realized that this orange was no ordinary navel but instead a moro or blood orange. I have seen many a Food Network personality squeeze fresh blood orange juice, line a tart shell with thin slices, or garnish a salad with wedges of the deep red fruit, but I had never actually tasted one myself. According to the wrapper, moros are known for their "tart plum and strawberry overtones." As with wine, I found it hard to taste anything but the actual fruit I was consuming, but I found the moro incredibly tasty nonetheless. It wasn't as sweet as a navel, and the color alone charmed me right off the bat. Check the produce aisle of your own local megamart, and hunt down your own blood oranges... before the effects of the California cold snap hit Chicago.

— Dana Currier / Comments (4)