13 Types Of Oranges And What Makes Them Unique

An orange is an orange is an orange ... Right? Well, not really. While you may just pick up any ol' orange at the grocery store or a carton of orange juice and think all the fruit is the same, there are actually quite a few different orange varieties and each one offers its own benefits and unique characteristics. 

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, "orange" refers to several different species in the Citrus Rutaceae family, which also includes other citrus fruits such as limes, lemons, and grapefruits. The sweet, common orange that most just simply know as an "orange" is also sometimes called the China orange (though you've likely never heard it called that). Historically native to tropical Asia, orange cultivation spread from the Malay Archipelago to India and Africa, then to the Mediterranean, and, eventually, North America and your fruit bowl.

But what if you want more than just that "common" orange? What if you want something a little more unique? You already likely know your mandarins and navels, clementines and blood oranges — but here are a few other orange varieties that you may not be familiar with, and what makes each option unique.

The Cara Cara orange may not be as familiar to you as blood oranges and you likely couldn't recognize one on sight. A relatively new variety, Cara Cara oranges first appeared in the 1970s, at the Venezuelan Hacienda Cara Cara. A cross between two other orange varieties, Cara Cara oranges grow in the mid-winter and, like blood oranges, have a short growing season, meaning they're in high demand and can be a little pricier than your standard common orange. Cara Cara oranges contain 20% more vitamin C and 30% more vitamin A than what you'll find in navel oranges. However, it can be easy to mix up your Cara Cara oranges and your navel oranges, as they're about the same shape and size, though, once you cut into both, you'll see the Cara Cara orange is a little more similar in color, as well as taste, to a blood orange (though not as alarmingly bright).

Cara Cara oranges are also sometimes called pink or red navel oranges.

The interchangeable use of the terms "tangerine" and "mandarin" can make for some confusing conversations, but S&J Mandarin Grove puts things in simpler terms: Much like all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon, all tangerines are mandarins, but not all mandarins are tangerines. The producer explains that the term "mandarin" can refer to a larger group of fruits that fall beneath its umbrella. When it comes to tangerines, they're typically bright orange and, compared to a textbook mandarin, are on the tarter side and not quite as easy to peel. To muddle the agricultural waters a bit further, tangerines have been used to create even more citrus varieties, such as the Temple Orange, which is a cross between a tangerine and a textbook mandarin, and the Minneola Tangelo, which is a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine.

Whatever you call it, tangerines offer a taste of summertime sweetness and childhood memories for many who enjoy this unique citrus fruit.

A tangelo is a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine. They look a little like an orange on the outside, but with a characteristic bumpy nub on one end. They boast a sweet-sour flavor and there are a few different subspecies of tangelos that combine various different types of grapefruits and tangerines, but they all give you the tartness of a grapefruit with the sweetness of a tangerine. Very versatile, they can be used just about anywhere you'd use a common orange.

Do note that a sub-species of tangelo oranges actually go by a totally separate name that you might recognize: Ugli fruit, or the Jamaican tangelo. Ugli fruit, which is a registered and trademarked name, looks quite different from its typical tangelo cousins, as it leans more yellow and green than orange in coloring. According to the company that owns the Ugli variety, this particular type of tangelo was discovered growing wild in Jamaica less than a century ago, and was believed to be a naturally-occurring hybrid between a Seville orange, grapefruit, and tangerine.

Navel oranges can be easy to mix up with both Cara Cara oranges and blood oranges, but there are a few key differences. This highly popular orange is named for its belly button-like hole that, when peeled, reveals a second, undeveloped fruit. Transported from Brazil to the United States in the late 1800s, navel oranges come in their own swathe of varieties, with up to 50 different types of navel oranges grown everywhere from Florida to California to Washington to Brazil. Naturally seedless, navel oranges are popular for eating fresh as well as using in recipes, but not so much for juicing.

When compared to Cara Cara oranges, navel oranges are a little milder in taste, though still sweet, and are usually more yellow-orange on the inside. This hue differs from the red color of blood oranges as well, and the two differ in terms of growing season. Navel oranges also feature more vitamin C content.

Satsuma oranges are cousins to tangerines and clementines, another one of those oranges that is a mandarin, but at the same time, not a mandarin. Named after a former Japanese province, Satsuma oranges are approximated to have been cultivated as early as the 1500s, before being transported to Florida in the late 1800s. Today, California grows most of the United States' Satsuma oranges.

While Satsuma oranges are similar in appearance and size to both tangerines and clementines, the sweet-tart Satsumas stand apart in two key ways: more juice and less pulp. Those who prefer a packed-to-the-gills juicy orange and as little pulp as possible will love these oranges. Unfortunately, Satsumas can be difficult to find due to their seasonality and are most popular in the winter months.

Don't think you've ever had a Satsuma before? While you may not have enjoyed one of these fruits fresh, you may have actually eaten them without realizing it, as they're often canned and sold as simply mandarins, versus under their actual name.

Trifoliate oranges are not, as you might expect, some odd orange-lemon-grapefruit hybrid that some agricultural enterpriser decided to make one day on a whim. Instead, it's one of the hardiest members of the orange family; it can thrive even at below-freezing temperatures.

Originally grown in China and North Korea, the tall, shrubby trees produce small, egg-shaped fruit that feature thick, yellow exteriors. The flavor is lemony and sour and the fruit is generally considered inedible raw, though tasty when cooked or used medicinally. One recipe humorously recommends combining one raw trifoliate orange with one barrel of sugar and one barrel of water to get an edible version of trifoliate orange lemonade. Popular culinary uses include jams and jellies. Medicinal uses include treatments for inflammation, nausea, and allergies. However, some caution that if these oranges are eaten in large quantities, the high acidity can cause stomach pain, nausea, or skin irritation, which is why some merely use the trees as decorative landscaping. The fruit also contains little actual fruit and is primarily seed.