Covering letter to the delivery from Finca Masía del Carmen:
These oranges that you see as you read this letter were grown under the sun of Valencia. The summer has been very hot in Spain, especially in the region of Levante where we are located. In addition, in some areas we had a problem with clogged irrigation pipes. Clogging is a good sign because it means that there is a lot of microbial life in our soils, but on the other hand, it means that the drip systems are not delivering the right amount of water. Some trees got thirsty at a crucial time for orange growth. We are saving up to change the pipes before next summer.
We don’t throw the fruit away because of its size. Compared to other years, you will receive on average more pieces per kilogram. And we have good news for you: large size does not mean superior quality. On the contrary, small oranges tend to have a higher concentration of natural sugars. During the first few days they will have the acidic freshness of a recently harvested fruit.
“Can I use the peel for cooking?” Yes, you can. They don’t have any wax treatment or skin preservation. They were harvested the same day they were shipped, and without going through holding rooms or artificial ripening, they traveled in that cardboard box to your home.
What variety do we send now? Salustianas: it is a variety of white orange (“naranja blanca”) that is characterized by the fact that its juice contains little limonine and it keeps very well. In general, this variety has medium to small fruits that stay fresh for a relatively long time once harvested.
Gonzalo Úrculo
How to preserve oranges?
In a cool, well-ventilated place without direct sunlight. As there is no treatment to preserve the skin, it is normal that the skin can dry out, but the pulp will take longer to dry. Be careful if you store them in a heated room, as this dries out the fruit from the inside!
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