Cara Cara Oranges are a special cultivar of a navel orange which are distinguished by their rosy flesh. Depending on the orange, the color may range from a pinkish to a deep red, much like that of the grapefruit. Unlike grapefruits, however, Cara Cara Oranges are very low in acid, with a naturally sweet flavor. Some people feel that they are superior to other navel orange varieties in flavor, and they are often in high demand in produce markets when they are in season.
This orange is believed to have developed accidentally, perhaps through a cross of orange varietals. Cara Caras were discovered at the Hacienda de Cara Cara in Venezuela in 1976, and their origins were a bit unclear, leading some people to classify them as a mutation, rather than a true cross, as navel oranges are themselves a mutation and they have not been known to propagate themselves spontaneously. By the 1980s, Cara Cara Oranges had reached the United States, although they were only available in specialty markets.
Like other naval oranges, Cara Cara Oranges have a partially developed fruit enclosed inside the larger orange. A good Cara Cara Orange will feel heavy for its size, indicating that it is very juicy. The season for these oranges peaks at the height of winter, making Cara Cara Oranges available in January and December in the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike the blood orange, another orange with a distinctive pigment, the rind of the Cara Cara Orange does not betray the color of the interior, and is typically a bright, glossy orange.
These oranges can be used in a variety of ways. Their slightly berry-like, sweet flavor tastes delicious out of hand and in fruit salads, and the oranges can also be juiced, eaten with yogurt or granola, or cooked into jams, jellies, and other spreads.
Cara Cara Oranges can be grown in USDA zones 11 and above. They are propagated through cuttings which are grafted to other orange trees, retaining the mutation. Some garden stores sell Cara Cara Orange seedlings, and they can also be ordered through nursery suppliers. Like other oranges, Cara Cara Oranges like lots of sun, fertile soil, and plenty of water to thrive. The oranges must be protected from frost, especially when the fruit is setting, and the roots should be mulched to help the trees retain water.
I love Cara Cara oranges, but got a bag of sunkist ones today (which I never buy sunkist, damn you wife) that just tastes like a normal navel orange. I don't like normal navel oranges, that's why I buy the Cara Caras. So if you have to buy sunkist might as well buy the less expensive navels.
- anon70228
20
I just found these at BJs Wholesale Club. I love them. Not as acidic, not as sweet, but certainly nothing at all like a grapefruit (which I despise).
I hope they carry these every week as I find I am eating two a day! Yummy!
- anon69980
19
I just had my first Cara Cara orange and thought it was wonderful. Will definitely buy them again, or at least as long as my store stocks them. One thing: I never buy my fruit by the bag. I like to smell it and feel it to make sure it's ripe enough for me. I like oranges that are heavy for their size and they don't have to look perfect; sometimes the ugly fruit is the sweetest.
- anon69051
18
Cara Cara -- wunderbar!
- anon68363
17
cara cara oranges, if they are a grapefruit cross, are going to be deadly to those on heart medications which require abstinence from all grapefruit products, ie., statins, lipitor.
- anon67784
16
I found cara cara a few years ago and buy them regularly throughout the season. I've had bad experiences when on the outskirts of the season, but mostly good obviously as I continue to buy them.
They are very juicy and sweet but not overly so. Not like a tangerine or such. I'm from Florida so I know my citrus and for those that have had bitter or dry cara Cara's I'm guessing they were not at the peak of season and plucked too early (dry) or too late (bitter).
I'm not a fan of grapefruits but growing up in Florida we plucked oranges and tangerines and grapefruits off the trees in the yard to eat and as said I'm a huge cara car fan now.-Rebecca
- anon67174
15
I'm eating my first cara cara as I type this. Bought them in Stop and Shop in the Bronx -- they just started carrying them and I'd never heard of them before. The "Power Orange" claim on the label caught my eye. Well they look like a navel orange on the outside and are reddish orange on the inside. Taste: delicious, with very little juice though but enough white matter (very nutritious) like a navel. They came in a bag of 6 for $5.00. I like them and am going back for seconds.
- anon66986
13
I had my first cara orange today. I expected be sweet and the best darn orange I've had.
Well, it wasn't. The first slice had a faint aftertaste of grapefruit--and I don't do grapefruit. The rest of the slices weren't sweet at all. So could this be an orange/grapefruit mix?
I wanted to try them because the sack said "sweeter" and I'd been curious about them. I think my bag is a distant relative of a grapefruit.
- Thomasina
12
A new grocer opened up in my area and advertised Navel oranges at $1 for 7 pounds. Not being a fan of navel oranges, I bought two pounds. Upon peeling the first "navel" I saw the pinkish flesh. I thought it was a grapefruit/navel hybrid.
After a quick internet search (they had Sunkist stickers) I found that these were Cara Cara oranges. While not terribly sweet, the Caras I bought are juicy and non-acidic. I love grapefruit, but it doesn't love me.
I'm going back for a full seven pounds of Cara Caras tomorrow. It will be a dollar well spent.
- anon64517
11
weird. had my first one today and it wasn't acidic at all.
- anon64035
10
I am a great fan and lover of Cara Cara oranges. I have been eating them for about 5 years now. I had always thought they were a grapefruit crossed with an orange. I had never researched them before. I was a little surprised to find out today that they are not a cross.
I have to agree with the person who had one that was acidic. The ones I eat are all acidic. Not as sweet as other oranges either. Here in Santa Rosa Calif, they are pricey also. Eight oranges cost a bit over $12.00 today. Albeit, very large Cara Cara's.
Does anyone know if there is an actual Orange X Grapefruit. --Gary
- Oncilla
9
The cara cara oranges are light and very good. i like those cara cara oranges. --denise
- anon62503
8
My husband purchased a few Cara Cara oranges yesterday while doing our weekly shopping, when he got home he offered them to me as a new yummy surprise telling me the produce manager said they were the sweetest oranges he'd find anywhere.
This afternoon I sat down to have one with a bowl of cottage cheese (expecting a sweet fruit after all) and as I began cutting the sections out I noted that the membranes were very tough, more like a grapefruit.
As I began to eat it I felt that horrible grapefruit 'pucker' that has always kept me away from too much grapefruit. The acid was very high, my mouth is still tingling and my stomach is doing that horrible grapefruit rumble I've always experienced after eating the fruit - too much acid.
I came online to get some info thinking he'd found a navel/pink grapefruit cross or some such thing, since even the flesh and those little separate little jewels citrus have, reminded me of grapefruit; something I'm very familiar with due to how long I usually sit picking at my grapefruits to get them down. ;)
Lo and behold, on site after site I'm told they should be low-acid, sweet and even berry-like -- nothing like what I experienced at all! Are we sure there isn't a new orange/pink grapefruit mix masquerading as true Cara Caras, which I am now wondering if I'll be able to find so I can experience this low-acid, sweet berry-tasting citrus fruit?
And yes, they were navels, each has a little undeveloped fruit within. I always wondered why that was like that in navels. Learn something new every day!
- anon60580
7
I just bought a box of Cara Cara Pink Oranges at Trader Joes! Very good.
- anon59586
6
We discovered cara cara oranges at Costco this winter, and feel that we have found a treasure. Orange-flesh navels are terrific, but cara cara is a wonderful improvement on that great fruit.
True to type, every orange has an undeveloped fruit inside. Kudos to the grower that developed this fantastic product.
- marcarlo
5
Mmm, tasty
- anon58271
4
It's unfortunate, but LWS (aka anon57218) must have gotten a bum batch of fruit. My husband and I came across Cara Cara oranges quite by accident this past holiday season (my mother bought several, thinking they were regular navel oranges). Those oranges and the Cara Caras I've purchased since have been tender and full of juice, with a wonderful flavor. We are heartily sold on this type of orange! :)
- anon58171
3
I recently purchased an eight-pound bag of Cara cara navel oranges. The fruit is very dry. No juice at all. The membrane between the sections is so tough that I thought they might be grapefruit. I hate to throw food away but I can't eat this.
LWS
- anon57218
2
Cara cara oranges are navels produced from the same genetic code and distributed with clippings. If anything influences the color of the flesh it might be exposure to sunlight or something, but very unlikely to be genetic. It would have to be a mutation, not a recessive gene.
- anon39764
1
i am a huge fan of cara cara oranges; so much so, that i buy them by the 8 pound bag when they are available in my store. i have even been known to buy two of those bags ;)
in any case, i have noticed on a few occasions something quite peculiar. orange-fleshed oranges in my bags of pink cara caras. they look the same on the outside, and for the most part they have similar characteristics to the pink ones, but just that they are purely orange inside.
of course it is possible that the producer (sunkist) gets them mixed up at their packaging plant, but i find this hard to believe. these are grown in such large numbers, that i cannot imagine that oranges from one crop get mixed up with another. it could happen once or twice, but i have witnessed this on numerous occasions.
i think a more likely possibility has something to do with genetics... that the orange-fleshed ones are based on a recessed gene and only occur in something like 1/64 or 1/128 times.
when i get one of those orange ones, i am not sure if i should feel like i just found a little treasure, or if i just got ripped off.
