- In 1988, a Californian woman named Merleen Smith discovered her Valencia orange tree had spontaneously mutated into a new form of sweet blood orange, now known as the Smith Red Valencia.
- Blood oranges are so luridly and gloriously red, with a deep colour that has given them a new cachet in this age of Instagram.
- Their flavour is more complex than an ordinary orange, described as "oranges soaked in sunsets" and "raspberry oranges" with a perfumed, almost winey taste.
- What makes an orange bloody is not heat but cold, with the berrylike taste and deep colour due to chemicals called anthocyanins, which are only triggered when the night-time temperature is at least 10C cooler than the day time.
- Blood oranges have health benefits, with the Tarocco variety being higher in vitamin C than any other citrus fruit.
It's the season for blood oranges. Here's how to make the most of them
Bee Wilson on the delectable, deeply flavoursome citrus fruit
Bee Wilson
