O is for Orange Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mandarin

The mandarin orange is an easily peeled citrus fruit first cultivated in Japan. The fruit is a special favorite part of the Chinese New Year traditions where the orange fruit trees are thought to bring good luck and good fortune. The Mandarin Duck is a perching duck indigenous to Eastern Asia. The bird has also experienced breeding success in parts of England, Germany and Ireland.

Answer: Tangerine

The tangerine is closely related to the mandarin orange. The taste is sweeter and stronger than a regular orange and the skin is easy to peel. The fruit is an excellent source of vitamin C, beta-carotene and many trace minerals. The name of the tangerine is thought to be derived from Tangiers. Tangiers is an influential port city near the Straits of Gibraltar, a place where the fruit flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Answer: Satsuma

The Satsuma Rebellion lasted from January 29, 1877, until September 24th of the same year. The conflict was a battle between aggrieved samurai and the new Imperial government. The rebellion's leader was Saigo Takamori who lost his life in the Battle of Shiroyama, thus ending the Satsuma Rebellion.

The Satsuma is, of course, also a yummy orange citrus fruit that is seedless and indigenous to the Satsuma Province in Japan.

Answer: Valencia

Valencia is located on the Eastern coast of the Iberian peninsula and the western coast of the Mediterranean. The city is thought to have been founded in the 2nd century by the Romans. Valencia is home to one of the largest ports on the Mediterranean and enjoys significant revenue brought in by a flourishing tourism trade.

Interestingly, the Valencia orange is not from Spain but was actually developed in California. William Wolfskill hybridized the orange on his plantation in Santa Ana in the mid 1800s.

He named his fruit the Valencia orange in honor of the sweet fruit that grew in Spain.

Answer: Jaffa

The Jaffa orange, also known as the Shamouti, is a hardy citrus fruit first cultivated by 18th-century Palestinian farmers. The fruit continues to be one of the primary citrus exports from the Jaffa port city. The fruit is generally hardy and can survive low temperatures due to its thick skin.

This quality makes it also a hardy crop for export but not an attractive crop for producing orange juice. The city of Jaffa is located adjacent to Tel Aviv and is best know for its biblical association with people such as Solomon, St. Peter and Jonah.

Answer: Navel Orange

The navel orange is another hardy fruit that has a particularly long growing season. The growth of a second fruit at the apex does indeed resemble the human navel which gives the fruit its name. There is also a red navel orange called the cara cara orange. This fruit has a vibrant orange rind but a red fleshy inside. The cara cara is most commonly grown in Venezuela and South Africa.

Answer: Malta

The Malta blood orange, or Maltaise Sanguine, is another delicious orange citrus fruit that is thought to have first been grown in areas of North Africa and throughout the Mediterranean region. It is now most commonly found in Pakistan and some other regions of the Middle East. Malta lies 50 miles off the coast of Sicily and is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The capital city is Valletta and it gained independence from Great Britain in 1964. Its primary industry is travel and tourism.

Answer: Clementine

Clementine Ogilvy Spencer-Churchill was born in 1885 and died in 1977. Born into a wealthy family, she is best remembered as the wife and companion of Sir Winston Churchill, Great Britain's war-time prime minister and leader. They were married in 1908 and had five children during their 56 years of marriage.

The clementine fruit is a hybrid of a mandarin and a sweet orange. In many markets, the clementine is nicknamed the Christmas orange because of its popularity during the holiday season.

Answer: Cherry Orange

The citropsis articulate is better known as the African Cherry Orange or locally as the omuboro. The fruit grows from a small tree. Interestingly, in Uganda a potion is brewed from the roots of the omuboro tree and marketed as a powerful herbal aphrodisiac for men. For this latter reason, and not the fruit itself, the cherry orange is a crop that is over-exploited.

Answer: Orange

It is believed that there are over 600 different species of orange worldwide. The leading producer of oranges in the world is Brazil and in America the leading growing states are Florida and California. Remarkably, almost 85% of all oranges grown are used in the production of orange juice.

The orange tree is a domesticated tree and it is uncommon to see orange fruit growing recklessly in the wild. Most importantly, the fruity orange gives us the name of the coolest color in the spectrum.