Oranges

The orange or sweet orange, it comes from India and was introduced to Europe by the Portuguese at the beginning of the 16th century. In America they were brought by the Spanish in the year 1565, the first orange trees were planted in Florida and California.

What is the history of Orange?

This fruit belongs to the genus Citrus of the family of the Rutáceas, and its family includes more than 1,600 species.

This genus Citrus, it is the most important of the family and has approximately 20 species of fruit suitable for consumption. Its high content of vitamin C, flavonoids and essential oils makes them so desired.

The sweet orange tree is the species with the highest consumption, this due to its excellent flavor and great beneficial properties for the organism. They can be consumed either alone or in combination with another fruit of your preference.

This fruit is very desirable for culinary uses such as drinks, desserts, or marmalades.

Nutritional properties of oranges

The oranges are the fruits with greater ease to find and consume. In times of winter their harvests bring us a great variety of nutrients that fill us with vitality and energy when consuming them.

Next, we mention some of the most important properties that this fruit has.

Within its nutritious composition, it is worth highlighting the energetic value that this fruit possesses, due to its high content of water and perfect vitamin C to prevent infections, colds and flu. In addition to this, it has folic acid, thiamine and minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium.

It has beta-carotene, which are responsible for its color and is well known for its antioxidant properties. It also has acids such as malic acid, oxalic, tartaric and citric that potentiates the work of vitamin C.

It is also possessing high fiber content, this is found in the white part of the fruit between the pulp and the bark.

Flavonoids are non-nutritional compounds, among them we find hesperidin, quercetin and rutin, normally found in the albedo and the pulp.

They are excellent antioxidants and prevent the onset of degenerative diseases, such as arteriosclerosis, cancer and aging.

Finally we find a non-nutritional fraction, these are limonoids, which respond to their characteristic aroma and this is attributed anticancer properties.

Composition per 100 grams of edible portion

calories 36.6 Carbohydrates (g) 8.9 Fiber (g) 2,3 Magnesium (mg) 15.2 Calcium (mg) 41 Vitamin C (mg) 50.6 Folic acid (mcg) 38.7 Beta-carotene (provitamin A) (mcg) 49

Preparations with Oranges

We will let you know some of the preparations you can make with the orange.

Orange cake with cheese (without oven) 10-12 people

Ingredients to use

For the base:

- 120 g of butter

- 175g of marie cookies

For the orange cake:

- 800 ml of strained natural orange juice

- 500 g of cream cheese type philadelphia

- 100 g of sugar

- 15 g of gelatin powder or 9 sheets of gelatin

For coverage:

- 250 ml of orange juice

- juice of 1 lemon (optional)

- 5 g of gelatin powder or 3 sheets of gelatin

Preparation method:

Base: Previously to have the melted butter, crush the cookies type maría and mix them with the butter until they are well soaked.

Then proceed to take them to the mold and flatten them until it is distributed throughout the base, it is taken to the refrigerator until it takes firmness.

Cake: pre-hydrate the gelatin with orange juice, when it has been hydrated take it to the fire and heat it a little without the need to boil, this is only to dissolve the gelatin, remove it from the fire.

In a bowl add the cream cheese and pour orange juice and mix with the blender and we are adding little by little the rest of the juice reserving approximately a glass that is what we will use for the coverage.

Add sugar to the mixture and continue beating, when we have well integrated the mixture pour the gelatin we had preheated at the beginning. Pouring it while mixing.

Then we take it to the mold and pour it carefully so as not to damage the base and we cover it with plastic wrap and we take it to the fridge until it settles, you can leave it overnight.

Coverage: we hydrated the gelatin with a bit of orange juice that we had reserved. We let it hydrate and heat it to dissolve the gelatin while stirring, when we dissolve it, we add this to the rest of the orange juice that we had reserved and add the orange juice. of a lemon this is optional.

Once the sumo is cold, pour it over the cake and bring it back to the fridge for approximately 1:30 minutes.

After this time we unmold and decorate to our liking.

Orange cream

Ingredients to use

- 400 mls. strained orange juice

- 400 grms Sugar

- 80 grms ointment butter

- 3 eggs

- 10 grms Cornstarch

- Syrup: 250 mls. water + 25 grs. Sugar

- Strawberries, apples, banana (fruit) chocolate ...

Preparation method:

We pour the orange juice, the cornstarch, syrup, egg, sugar and the ointment butter is to say without dissolving and we proceed to beat with the blender until integrating all the ingredients.

Once the ingredients are integrated, we take the mixture to a saucepan (pot) and take it to the fire, initially medium fire and then we lower the flame when we see that it begins to thicken without letting it boil and when it thickens it withdraws from the fire and We beat it for a few minutes and let it rest at room temperature, covering it with plastic wrap, the paper must touch the cream.

Benefits for the health of the Oranges

Strengthens immunity: it is perfect for those who are low on defenses or are prone to suffer from colds, respiratory allergies or herpes infections. Since oranges are antiviral, antibacterial and neutralizing free radicals.

They treat anemia: this fruit is perfect for people with anemia problems or for women in adolescent age who suffer from heavy menstruation, as vitamin C favors the absorption of iron.

Regulates cholesterol: oranges are possessing pectins that help lower blood cholesterol levels, in addition to this they have magnesium that helps prevent clots from forming, protecting against the risk of cardiovascular disorders and stroke.

Drinking orange juice regularly helps prevent varicose veins and hemorrhoids, as they protect blood vessels and promote good circulation.

It helps digestion: oranges act as both stomach and intestinal regulators in addition to helping to relieve gastric spasms and slow digestions.

Strong bones: vitamin and calcium sources help protect bones and teeth.

They provide energy: this fruit is rich in sugars of fast absorption excellent for the contribution of energy.