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The bitter orange, sour orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the hybrid citrus tree species Citrus × aurantium, and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world. It is a cross between the pomelo, Citrus maxima, and the wild type mandarin orange, Citrus reticulata. The bitter orange is used to make essential oil, used in foods, drinks, and pharmaceuticals. The Seville orange is prized for making British orange marmalade.
The bitter orange spread from Southeast Asia via India and Iran to the Islamic world as early as 700 AD in the Arab Agricultural Revolution. After the Columbian exchange, the pomelo was introduced to the New World, starting in Mexico by 1568.
Among the many related species is Citrus bergamia, the bergamot orange. This is probably a bitter orange and limetta hybrid; it is cultivated in Italy for the production of bergamot oil, a component of many brands of perfume and tea, especially Earl Grey tea. It is a less hardy plant than other bitter orange varieties.
In Finland, mämmi is a fermented malted rye dough flavoured with ground Seville orange zest.
Across Scandinavia, bitter orange peel is used in dried, ground form in baked goods such as Christmas bread and gingerbread.
In Greece, the nerántzi is one of the most prized fruits used for spoon sweets.
In Adana province, Turkish cuisine, bitter orange jam is a principal dessert.
Bitter oranges are made into in India, either in the style of a raita with curds, or roasted, spiced, and sweetened to form a condiment that can be preserved in jars.
In Yucatán (Mexico), it is a main ingredient of the cochinita pibil.
In Suriname, its juice is used in the well-known dish pom.
An essential oil is extracted from the peel of dried, unripe bitter oranges; C. aurantium var. curassaviensis in particular is used in Curaçao liqueur. An oil is pressed from the fresh peel of ripe fruit in many countries and used in ice creams, puddings, sweets, soft and alcoholic drinks, and pharmaceuticals. The flowers are distilled to yield Neroli oil and orange flower water, with similar uses. Neroli oil is also employed in .
Following bans on the herbal stimulant ephedra in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere, bitter orange has been substituted into "ephedra-free" herbal weight-loss products by dietary supplement manufacturers. Bitter orange is believed to cause the same spectrum of adverse events as ephedra. have linked bitter orange supplements to , angina, ischemic colitis, and myocardial infarction. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health found "little evidence that bitter orange is safer to use than ephedra."
Uses
Culinary
While the raw pulp is not edible, bitter orange is widely used in cooking. The Seville orange (the usual name in this context) is prized for making British orange marmalade, being higher in pectin than the sweet orange, and therefore giving a better set and a higher yield. Once a year, oranges of this variety are collected from trees in Seville and shipped to United Kingdom to be used in marmalade. However, the fruit is rarely consumed locally in Andalusia. This reflects Britain, Portugal and Spain's historic Atlantic World; an early recipe for 'marmelet of oranges' was recorded by Eliza Cholmondeley in 1677. Bitter orange— bigarade—was used in all early recipes for duck à l'orange, originally called canard à la bigarade. Malta too has a tradition of making bitter oranges into marmalade.
Steffen Arctander (1960). 195168205X, Orchard Innovations. 195168205X
The peel of bitter oranges is used as a spice in Belgian Witbier (white beer), for orange-flavored liqueurs such as Cointreau, and to produce bitters such as Orange bitters. It is a component of Nordic hot spiced wine, glögg.
Rootstock, wood, and soap
The bitter orange is used as a rootstock in groves of sweet orange. The fruit and leaves make Foam and can be used as soap. The hard, white or light-yellow wood is used in woodworking and made into in Cuba.
Herbal stimulant
Extracts of bitter orange and its peel have been marketed as dietary supplements purported to act as a weight-loss aid and appetite suppressant. Bitter orange contains the tyramine metabolites N-Methyltyramine, octopamine, and synephrine, substances similar to epinephrine, which act on the α1 adrenergic receptor to vasoconstriction and increase blood pressure and heart rate.
Drug interactions
Bitter orange may have serious grapefruit-like drug interactions with medicines such as (to lower cholesterol), (to lower blood pressure), some anti-anxiety drugs, and some antihistamines.
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