Sicily’s rosso oranges have 50% more vitamin C than other less rosily hued oranges. These PGI fruits are super delicious too – probably my favourite kind of citrus. Before this recent visit to Sicily, I just always assumed there was only one type of blood orange (as we refer to it in the English speaking world), the Sanguinello. However, it’s just one of three arancie rosse to be found in the teeming fruit bowl of Sicily.
The three varietals of Sicilian blood oranges include the deeply crimson Moro, the Tarocco (a great all rounder and Italy’s most popular orange), and the sweet and succulent Sanguinello.
During my time travelling Le Vie della Zagara, I got a taste of all three blood oranges (and more – keep reading!) while visiting two places involved in the production of aranchia rossa: the lavish San Giorgio Estate with its upscale luxury Aranjaya villa and the more pragmatic but nonetheless impressive processing facilities of Pannitteri & C. Both are located in the eastern area of Sicily within the province of Catania and bestowed with jaw-dropper views of smoking and snow-capped Mount Etna.
Aranjaya
An ideal setting for, well, pretty much anything you can imagine doing beneath the gracious glow of the generous (if unrelenting) Sicilian sun, Aranjaya luxury villa is set among the vast acreage of the San Giorgio Estate, awarded in 2003 as a Natural and Cultural Heritage site by the European Organization for Landowners. Assured natural beauty, panoramas of Etna, private pool as well as “polished–terracotta floors, soaring ceilings and gallery-quality (midcentury) antique furnishings, set within its own private parkland, verdant with a precious palm tree collection from all over the subtropical world” ensure a charmed stay for guests.
They pour a gorgeous glass of OJ in the morning too! While there, I sampled a range of blood orange juices (all three grown on the estate) in addition to a few especially refreshing glassfuls the estate’s own Rudolfina hybrid of blood and navel orange, one of the tastiest treats I enjoyed on my trip.
Aranjaya is a 20-minute drive from the airport in Catania, but a world away from its bustle. Find out more at aranjaya.com.
Pannitteri & C
Ever bought a blood orange from Waitrose, Asda or M&S? Odds are you’ve had a fruit grown by Pannitteri & C? Located on the lower slopes of Etna in the Belpasso area of Catania, Pannitteri & C brings 20,000 tons of oranges to the market (mostly by way of its Rosaria brand, the “blood orange with its name on the sticker”). The majority of oranges are picked from December to April with blood oranges picked from December to April and “blonde” ones picked from April to June and October to December. Read lots more at en.aranciarosaria.eu and pannitteri.it.
Please keep an eye out for more juicy tales in my Le Vie della Zagara series of posts.
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