Blood oranges have nothing to do with Dracula

One of the great joys of winter is the bounty of citrus fruit available and South Africa is the bread basket of citrus fruit, exporting top quality product to various markets. . The best part for us locals is the wide variety and the price. It's the perfect time to stock up on nature's vitamin C. 

A relatively new variety in our markets is the beautiful blood orange — it may look like an orange from the outside with a hint of rosy cheek, but inside is where this Mediterranean fruit gets its name, as instead of the usual orange-coloured flesh, blood oranges have an appetising sun-kissed dappled red/orange hue. Apart from the colour, it's the eating that is pure joy — super sweet, it's the delicate flesh with excellent health-giving flavour that takes me back to eating oranges as a child. Delicious.

And what makes them so good? Areas in South Africa offer the perfect climate for the cultivation of blood oranges — it is the combination of cold winter nights and mild days that favours the development of anthocyanins, a powerful antioxidant, which are the red pigments in the fruit which give blood oranges their distinctive splashes of deep red colour — also offering good health. They make excellent eating, are great for making marmalade, baking and cooking and even better when you add a slice or two to your fave G 'n T. I'm hooked and can't get enough of them. 

Where to get them? At Babylonstoren Estate just outside Franschhoek they started their blood orange journey in 2016 and today concentrate on two cultivars — the Tarocco and Moro, both Italian in origin. Both varieties are known for their sweetness and excellent flavour. You can buy the fruit directly from the estate — they deliver free nationwide — and prices start at R105 for 4kg. Visit: www.babylonstoren.com

Checkers stocks blood oranges under the label Sicilian oranges and sells them for R19.99 per 1kg bag.