p. 13 | Let’s Eat Oranges

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 9, 1916

Let’s Eat Oranges

PROBABLY the reason many of us consider the orange a luxury rather than an everyday food is because we still cherish memories of the time when the fruit was high-priced and not widely distributed, and an occasional orange was a surprise often reserved for the toe of the Christmas stocking.

Many of us are more or less slaves of our habits of thought, and in face of the fact that oranges can be purchased from December to April at almost any price, and the rest of the year at prices which are moderate when the value received is considered, we do not take advantage of their wonderful dietetic properties because we consider them too expensive.

It is generally known that the orange contains citric acid, which is a liver stimulant, and that it is a gentle laxative. But its wonderful supply of phosphates, a direct nerve food, is usually overlooked, and the fact that oranges therefore have a beneficial effect in cases of insomnia is practically unknown. In short, the importance of the orange as an everyday food the year round cannot be too greatly emphasized.

As a breakfast fruit it is unequaled; but to obtain the greatest benefit it should be eaten a half hour before the meal, so that the juice may leave the stomach and begin its rapid upbuilding and general cleansing while the digestive tract is comparatively open. If this is done, a cereal with light cream may be eaten at breakfast; but if the orange figures as the breakfast fruit, the cereal with cream should be omitted, as the combination sometimes causes nausea and gas.

The necessity for washing oranges and, indeed, all fruits, cannot be too strongly insisted on; for no matter how clean they may look, they are no more free from bacteria than unwrapped bread, or candies sold from open cases.

If to be eaten with a spoon, the fruit should be cut in halves crosswise; and if the halves do not stand level, thin slices of skin may be cut from the ends. The pulp around the edge and the membrane between the sections should be loosened by a curved grapefruit knife.

To prepare the orange flower-fashion, cut down the skin in quarters, and then in eighths, to within an inch of the blossom end. Then strip down in points and fold these over. To serve orange sections on a strip of peel, cut an inch band crosswise entirely around the orange at the middle. Remove the remaining skin, slit the strip open, and spread out the sections. . . .

When sections are to be used for garnishing or for fruit cups, the best way to obtain them is to pare the orange with a sharp knife till the juice runs, and then cut out each section separately.

If plain sliced oranges are desired, they may be prepared in this way, or they may be pared, sliced crosswise, and arranged in dessert dishes or a bowl, with a little sugar between the layers; or if there chances to be at hand some well-sweetened pineapple juice or the juice from other canned fruit, it may be poured over the orange slices, the whole being allowed to ripen in a cold place for at least an hour.—Good Housekeeping.