Bitter Orange

Native to eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, and Southeast Asia, bitter orange now is grown throughout the Mediterranean region and elsewhere, including California and Florida.

Bitter Orange. Photo: BMK/Wikimedia Commons

It is probably a cross between the pomelo, Citrus maxima, and the mandarin orange, Citrus reticulata.

The bitter orange spread from Southeast Asia via India and Iran to the Islamic world as early as 700 C.E.

The bitter orange was introduced to Spain in the 10th century by the Moors.

It was introduced to Florida and the Bahamas from Spain, and wild trees are found near small streams in generally secluded and wooded areas.

Varieties

• Citrus × aurantium subsp. amara is a spiny evergreen tree native to southern Vietnam, and widely cultivated. It is used as grafting stock for citrus trees, in marmalade, and in liqueur such as triple sec, Grand Marnier, and Curaçao. It is also cultivated for the essential oil expressed from the fruit, and for neroli oil and orange flower water, which are distilled from the flowers.

• Citrus × aurantium var. myrtifolia is sometimes considered a separate species, Citrus myrtifolia, the myrtle-leaved orange. The 'Chinotto' cultivar is used to make the Italian soda beverage also called Chinotto.

• Citrus × aurantium var. daidai daidai, is used in Chinese medicine and Japanese New Year celebrations. The aromatic flowers are added to tea.

• Citrus × aurantium subsp. currassuviencis, laraha, grows on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. The dried peels are used in the creation of Curaçao liqueur.

• Citrus bergamia, the Bergamot orange, 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.

Cooking

The Seville orange 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 Britain to be used in marmalade.

However, the fruit is rarely consumed locally in Andalusia. This reflects the historic Atlantic trading relationship with Portugal and Spain; the earliest recipe for 'marmelat of oranges' dates from 1677.

Bitter orange—bigarade—was used in all early recipes for duck à l'orange, originally called canard à la bigarade.

It is also used in compotes and for orange-flavored liqueurs. The peel can be used in the production of bitters.

The unripe fruit, called narthangai, is commonly used in Southern Indian cuisine, especially in Tamil cuisine. It is pickled by cutting it into spirals or small wedges and stuffing it with salt.

The pickle is usually consumed with yoghurt rice called thayir sadam. The fresh fruit is also used frequently in pachadis.

The Belgian Witbier (white beer) is often spiced with the peel of the bitter orange.

In Finland and Sweden, bitter orange peel is used in dried, ground form (called pomeranssi in Finnish, pomerans in Swedish) in gingerbread (pepparkakor), some Christmas bread, and mämmi. In Denmark, the candied peel (Danish pomeransskal) is used in various desserts and cakes like Christmas Cake (julekage) and Brown Cake (brunekager). It is also used in the Nordic glögi.

In Greece and Cyprus, the nerántzi or κιτρομηλο, respectively, is one of the most prized fruits used for spoon sweets, and the C. aurantium tree (nerantziá or kitromiliá) is a popular ornamental tree. In Albania as well, nerënxa or portokalli i hidhur is used commonly in spoon sweets.

In Malta, bitter oranges are known as larinġ tal-bakkaljaw, and are used for marmalade and as root-stock for other citrus trees. The Maltese soft drink Kinnie is also made from bitter oranges.

In Turkey, juice of the ripe fruits can be used as salad dressing, especially in Çukurova region. However, in Iraqi cuisine, a bitter orange or raranj in Iraqi is used to complement dishes such as charred fish (samak or simach maskouf, tomato stew morgat tamata, qeema, a dish that has the same ingredients as an Iraqi tomato stew with the addition of minced meat, boiled chickpeas lablabi, salads, as a dressing, and on essentially any dish one might desire to accompany bitter orange. Iraqis also consume it as a citrus fruit or juice it to make bitter orange juice 'aseer raranj.

Throughout Iran (where the fruit is commonly known as narenj), the juice is popularly used as a salad dressing, souring agent in stews and pickles or as a marinade. The blossoms are collected fresh to make a prized sweet-smelling aromatic jam (bitter orange blossom jam, morabba bahar-narenj), or added to brewing tea.

In the Americas, the juice from the ripe fruit is used as a marinade for meat in Nicaraguan, Cuban, Dominican, and Haitian cooking, as it is in Peruvian ceviche.

In Yucatán (Mexico), it is a main ingredient of the cochinita pibil. In Cuba, a traditional Christmas time dessert is made with the peel of the bitter orange cooked in syrup and eaten with cheese and buñuelos. In Suriname, its juice is also used in the well-known dish pom.

Usage

Many varieties of bitter orange are used for their essential oil, and are found in perfume, used as a flavoring or as a solvent, and also for consumption.

Bitter orange is also employed in herbal medicine as a stimulant and appetite suppressant, due to its active ingredient, synephrine.

Bitter orange has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for indigestion, nausea, and constipation.

Today, various bitter orange products are promoted for heartburn, nasal congestion, weight loss, appetite stimulation or suppression, and athletic performance. Bitter orange is also applied to the skin for pain, bruises, fungal infections, and bedsores. Bitter orange is used in cooking and for adding flavor to beer and spirits.

The fruit of bitter orange contains p-synephrine and other naturally occurring chemicals. p-Synephrine is structurally similar to ephedrine, the main component in the herb ephedra, but p-synephrine has different pharmacologic properties.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the use of ephedra in dietary supplements because it raises blood pressure and is linked to heart attack and stroke. Bitter orange is commonly used as a substitute for ephedra in dietary supplements.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has placed “synephrine (bitter orange)” on its current list of banned drugs, listing it as a stimulant.

Drug interactions

Bitter orange may have serious interactions with drugs such as statins (to lower cholesterol), nifedipines (to lower blood pressure), some anti-anxiety drugs, some antihistamines, etc., in a similar way to grapefruit (see grapefruit–drug interactions).

How Much Do We Know?

A small number of studies have investigated the usefulness of bitter orange for health purposes in people.

What Have We Learned?

Applying bitter orange oil to the skin may help with ringworm, jock itch, and athlete’s foot infections.
There’s not enough scientific evidence to show whether bitter orange is helpful for other health purposes, such as weight loss, anxiety, and premenstrual syndrome.

What Do We Know About Safety?

Bitter orange is likely safe when used orally in amounts commonly found in foods.

Evidence regarding the effects of bitter orange (alone or combined with other substances, such as caffeine and green tea) on the heart and cardiovascular system is inconclusive. Some studies showed that bitter orange raised blood pressure and heart rate, but other studies showed that bitter orange didn’t have this effect at commonly used doses.

Some sources list bitter orange as a stimulant whereas other sources say that it’s not a stimulant at commonly used doses.

Little is known about whether it’s safe to use bitter orange during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. (National Institutes of Health/Wikipedia)