Tales from Crete | 7

The last time I was in Crete, I took a trip to the plantations that supply our business with the sweet and juicy Christmas oranges, which it has become a fixed tradition that we bring home directly from Crete and sell at our Orange Day, as we call it , which this year is Saturday 8 December.

When I inspected the many oranges, they were still green as seen in the picture, but there were many of them and they were already a good size. But what exactly connects Christmas with oranges and where does the orange come from. According to the well-known food writer Lise Brinkman, the multi-chambered orange-coloured orange fruit originates from China. In the 7th century, the spread of the sour fruit started in Europe. That was when the Moors conquered large parts of Spain. The Moors used, among other things, orange trees to adorn their gardens. Orange trees were grown in Sicily, which were exported to parts of Europe. It quickly became IN among the nobility to grow oranges under glass, a so-called orangery. The fact that we in Denmark associate oranges with Christmas is probably most of all connected to the fact that for generations we have used oranges in our Christmas decorations, decorated with red ribbons and attached dried cloves in neat patterns. Something that largely contributes to the scent most of us associate with Christmas.

But there is now a completely different and more straightforward explanation. In Crete as well as in all southern European countries, oranges are one of the biggest contributors to getting your daily supply of C vitamins. Oranges contain as much as 61 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of orange. In other words, this means that just by eating a single large orange a day, you are covered for the recommended amount of vitamin C for an adult of 75 mg per day, and it tastes excellent at the same time. Whether it is Greek, Spanish, Sicilian, Californian or other oranges that taste best, are the sweetest and juiciest, is, like so much else, a matter of taste. Of course, I think that the oranges that come from Crete are the absolute best, but I may also be a little biased and infected with the so-called Crete virus :-)

But I know this much that the Cretan oranges that we bring home very soon can usually last well into February and you are then well covered for vitamin C for that long.

We actually also have a small orange tree standing in our office in Denmark, but if I have to be completely honest..., it's nothing to write home about, because it's a paltry tree, even though it actually bears fruit again in year. No less than 14 sweet little oranges deliver this year.

Perhaps it was also appropriate to give a small recipe that we ourselves are very happy with.

You take a couple of oranges and a ripe avocado, peel and divide/cut into small pieces, mix them in a bowl and squeeze extra orange juice over them, pour a drizzle of olive oil and season with a little pepper if necessary. Works great as a small starter or side dish.

If you want an extra vitamin C bomb instead, you can replace the avocado with Kiwi and omit the pepper and possibly top with a little pine nuts or walnuts. Then there is an easy and very delicious little dessert.

potassium orexia
(good appetite)