The three most common types of blood oranges are the
Tarocco (native to
Italy), the
Sanguinello (native to
Spain), and the very dark
Moro (native to
Italy), the newest variety of the three. Other less-common types include
Maltaise demi sanguine,
Washington Sanguine,
Ruby,
Doblafina,
Delfino,
Burris Valencia,
Vaccaro,
Grosse Ronde,
Entrefina, and
Sanguinello a Pignu. While also pigmented,
Cara Cara navels and
Vainiglia sanguignos have pigmentation based on
lycopene, not anthocyanins as blood oranges do. The flavor is stronger and the aroma is more intense than a normal orange. This fruit has a distinct, sweet
flavor with a hint of
raspberry. This orange possesses a more bitter taste than the 'Tarocco' or the 'Sanguinello'. The 'Moro' variety is believed to have originated at the beginning of the 19th century in the citrus-growing area around
Lentini (in the
Province of Syracuse in
Sicily,
Italy) as a bud mutation of the "Sanguinello Moscato". The 'Moro' is a "deep blood orange", meaning that the flesh ranges from orange-veined with ruby coloration, to
vermilion, to vivid
crimson, to nearly black.
Tarocco The name
Tarocco is thought to be derived from an exclamation of wonder expressed by the farmer who was shown this fruit by its discoverer. It is a medium-sized fruit and is perhaps the sweetest and most flavorful of the three types. The most popular table orange in Italy, it is thought to have derived from a mutation of the 'Sanguinello'. It is referred to as "half-blood", because the flesh is not accentuated in red pigmentation as much as with the 'Moro' and 'Sanguinello' varieties. It has thin orange skin, slightly blushed in red tones. The Tarocco is one of the world's most popular oranges because of its sweetness (
Brix to acid ratio is generally above 12.0) and juiciness. It has the highest
vitamin C content of any orange variety grown in the world, mainly on account of the fertile soil surrounding
Mount Etna, and it is easy to peel. The 'Tarocco' orange is seedless. The
University of California, Riverside Citrus Variety Collection has delineated three subcultivars of 'Tarocco'. The 'Bream Tarocco', which was originally donated by Robert Bream of
Lindsay, California, is of medium to large fruit with few to no seeds. 'Tarocco #7', or 'CRC 3596 Tarocco', is known for its flavor, but has a rind with little to no coloration. The 'Thermal Tarocco' was donated by A. Newcomb of Thermal Plaza Nursery in
Thermal, California.
Sanguinello The
Sanguinello , also called
Sanguinelli in the US (the plural form of its name in Italian), discovered in Spain in 1929, has reddish skin, few seeds, and sweet, tender flesh. 'Sanguinello', the Sicilian late "full-blood" orange, is close in characteristics to the 'Moro'. Where grown in the Northern Hemisphere, it matures in February, but can remain on trees unharvested until April. Fruit can last until the end of May. The peel is compact, and clear yellow with a red tinge. The flesh is orange with multiple blood-colored streaks. ==History and background==