Start your day with sunshine

By BETTY SMITH
Press special writer

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS April 02, 2008 01:17 pm

— Even when the skies are rainy, such as they were Monday, oranges can provide a warm, sunny start at breakfast.
For the past century, oranges have been America’s most popular breakfast fruit, particularly as a juice accompanying bacon, eggs or cereal creations.
That wasn’t always the case. Until sometime in the early 20th century, oranges were expensive treats usually reserved for the Christmas stocking. But better methods of growing, preservation and transportation has made the orange accessible to all tables.
“We have oranges available year-round,” said Roger Eubanks, produce manager at Reasor’s.
The supermarket usually carries navel oranges, seeded oranges sometimes used for juicing, and blood oranges, which have a reddish tint. A glance at any grocery store shelf or restaurant menu confirms that orange juice is the most popular breakfast drink.
A glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice is indeed a treat.
“But I think most people just eat them raw,” Eubanks said.
The orange as we know it today originated in China and Indonesia, moving to India and later spreading across the world, according to World’s Healthiest Foods (WHFoods). The Spanish introduced it to Florida in the 16th century, to California in the 18th century. Those states became renowned for their orange groves.
The navel orange, popular because it is seedless, was a mutant discovered in a Brazilian monastery in 1820.
Interestingly, the orange is classified as a berry.
“Vitamin C,” was the first thing out of Heather Winn’s mouth when asked about the nutritional value of oranges.
Winn, Extension educator for Oklahoma State University in Cherokee County, also praised oranges for their high level of calcium and vitamin A.
While nutritional requirements depend on the person’s age, “in general on a 2000-calorie diet you need two cups of fruit every day,” Winn said.
This can be satisfied by one medium orange or a cup of orange juice. For 69 calories, the orange contains 65 milligrams of calcium, 349 milligrams of vitamin A and 68 milligrams of vitamin C. “You only need 60 milligrams of vitamin C for the whole day, so if you eat one orange you can take care of your total requirement,” Winn said. “Oranges are a naturally good choice. We eat a lot of them at our house.”
Her family consumes most of its oranges raw, or by drinking orange juice. She also likes mandarin oranges in a number of salad recipes, and they can be added to many green salads to contribute flavor and nutrition.
“Fruits do have a high water content, which helps them be lower in calories. But they do have a lot of sugar, which makes them a little higher in calories than vegetables,” Winn said.
She cautioned that it’s not desirable to add too much sugar to fruits. For example, the traditional favorite ambrosia, with its oranges and coconut, usually also contains a lot of added sugar.
One place you may not think of using orange juice is in baking. But the book, “King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking,” suggests using a small amount of orange juice as part of the liquid in many of its recipes. It calls orange juice and whole wheat “a happy marriage.”