Seville, Spain is the namesake of one of the most famous oranges, and the oranges are everywhere. Orange trees are common in parks and along streets, and there are often fallen oranges underfoot.
Walking the streets and seeing all these left me craving citrus—but sadly, the Seville orange (also known as a bigarade orange) is not for eating. It’s a sour or bitter orange that’s best used for marmalade because of its tartness and high pectin level. In fact, the oranges of Seville, when harvested, are mostly shipped to British marmalade makers.
But they’re hardy, have a long season…and make wonderful marmalade!
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Seville oranges remind me more of lemons than usual oranges in that they attack your taste buds. You’d have thought the folks would have learned to plant mandarin or naval or valencia oranges!?