Citrus fruits are packed with essential nutrients that offer numerous health advantages – making them crucial components of a balanced diet.
India is home to many citrus varieties with abundant genetic resources for sweet oranges, mandarins, and pummelo-grapefruits.
Mudkhed oranges, also known as muscled oranges in Maharashtra, are an iconic citrus fruit. Similar to tangerines but smaller in size.
Bitter Orange
The bitter orange, commonly known by its name Seville or bigarade orange, is a citrus tree with peel and rind used for making marmalade. Additionally, its fruit is used in juice, marinades, liqueur, and various desserts and dishes, mainly Spanish cuisine, Cuban food, Mexican cooking, and East Asian cooking. Furthermore, its zest is often simmered in sugar syrup to produce candied orange peel.
Bitter oranges are relatively straightforward to grow, provided their climate allows, and they receive plenty of light and water. Their evergreen plants feature long spines with fragrant blooms that release an inviting scent when crushed or touched, producing fruits with bumpy textures; their skin is yellowish-orange in hue, with lighter flesh underneath.
Organic bitter orange peel powder is an ideal ingredient for making soaps and body scrubs and makes an excellent addition to other cosmetic products. Packed with Vitamin C to strengthen immunity and provide antibacterial protection, it also acts as an all-natural deodorant, helping soothe stomach issues while aiding in digestion and being used to ease stress and anxiety levels.
Ayurveda uses fruit and flower extracts to treat digestive and respiratory conditions as well as provide antioxidant benefits. Their oil may stimulate appetite and metabolism while stimulating metabolism as a whole – popular uses include adding it to ice cream, baked goods, gelatins, puddings, chewing gum, soft drinks, or liqueurs.
The bitter orange essential oil has long been associated with lower blood pressure and diabetes control, aromatherapy to combat depression, boost mood, and aid sleep; its soothing aroma has even been known to alleviate insomnia! Adding it to bathwater helps soothe both body and mind alike!
Bitter orange leaves and fruit can be very effective in treating headaches. A tea made from these materials has also been known to alleviate chest pains. Furthermore, its seeds and pericarp can be used to dissolve kidney stones and increase immunity, while its oil extracted from fruit has also been utilized as perfumes and flavoring agents.
Key Lime
The Key lime, commonly referred to as Mexican or West Indian Lime (Citrus aurantifolia), is a small, round citrus fruit with a thin greenish-yellow rind and juicy, acidic pulp with an irresistibly floral fragrance that hails from Southeast Asia and now grown throughout tropical and subtropical regions worldwide – particularly Florida and Mexico.
Key limes stand out from regular limes by having thinner skins and higher acidity levels, creating an intense, tarty taste and more potent perfume. Their zest and juice can also add floral notes to many dishes like desserts and cocktails.
Limes are an indispensable ingredient in tropical and subtropical cuisines worldwide, from Mexico and the West Indies to Africa, India, South America, and Asia. Widely grown as fruit crops in these locations – Mexico, West Indies, Africa, India, South America, and Asia. Limes play an integral role in dishes such as Chutneys, Pickles, Curries, and Marinades. Limeade Limeade can even be made using this beautiful fruit! Although you can eat them raw as an addition to other recipes.
Regular limes are more readily available and affordable in grocery stores than Key limes, with more extended shelf lives that allow storage in plastic bags at room temperature. Unfortunately, however, they lack the versatility or aromatic quality associated with Key limes.
Lime juice can be used in dressings, guacamole, and salsa recipes and as a flavor enhancer when seasoning savory dishes. Furthermore, lime juice is often added as an ingredient in beverages like lemonade, tea, and juices, and even used to marinate seafood before baking!
Lime juice has many digestive health benefits that may help treat indigestion, from cleansing your stomach to providing constipation relief. A glass of lime juice with salt can even reduce heartburn symptoms while soothing inflammation in both mouth and throat areas.
Mudkhed Orange
Mudkhed orange is one of the leading mandarin varieties in India, grown extensively across the Coorg and Vynad regions in South India. This hybrid between King and Willow leaf mandarins has earned itself an excellent reputation for producing high-quality fruits that boast of being semi to bright orange with thin rind, oblate to globose shape, and 9-11 segments packed full of juicy juice – harvest season is Feb-Mar. Due to its exceptional commercial value due to juiciness and flavor, it boasts high retail value commercially; other benefits include phytochemicals, phenolic acids, and flavonoids present as well as many phytochemicals from its fruit peel as well as being loaded with phytochemicals from its peel which boast of being rich in dietary fiber content compared with many varieties grown within India.
The mulched orange variety is resistant to citrus canker and other diseases and requires significantly less water than different varieties. Its flowers appear at the same time as mango trees blossom, so these trees often co-exist peacefully. This variety generally matures within 240 days.
Mudkheds are incredibly versatile ingredients that can be used in numerous recipes. From desserts and salads to raw or cooked consumption, bulkheads provide essential sources of vitamins A and C as well as antioxidants that may protect against heart disease.
Mudkheds, like other citrus fruits, thrive best under frost-free conditions. An annual rainfall of 100-120 cm and temperatures ranging between 10 and 35 degrees Celsius are optimal conditions. When planting these trees, they must be produced on plowed and leveled land that has been pressed and ground and all weeds removed from their planting area; in hilly regions, growing mandarins on terraces helps avoid stagnant water pooling in planting sites.
Mandarins require soil that is light to medium loam with good drainage, having an ideal pH between 5.5 and 8.0, and sufficient nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for healthy development. Furthermore, sound drainage systems should also be in place in the soil in order to avoid any waterlogging and ensure healthy growth.
Pomelo
Pomelos are one of the most enormous citrus fruits, native to Southeast Asia’s subtropical and tropical areas. Also known as Citrus maxima, Citrus grandis, or pummelo, their yellowish-skinned exterior covers segments that open out into pink or white flesh with tiny seeds for eating as a snack or used in recipes; their juice and peel may have medicinal properties, too!
Pomelo fruit is loaded with essential vitamins and nutrients that boost immunity, including vitamin C – an anti-oxidant known for helping build immunity to colds, allergies, and asthma. Furthermore, potassium helps regulate blood pressure. Finally, fiber provides bulk for digestion purposes to avoid constipation.
Pomelo fruit contains flavonoids and phenolic compounds that may help protect against diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Pomelo may also help lower triglycerides, total cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in blood levels.
Consuming pomelo regularly can help promote healthy skin. Its vitamin C content has been found to promote skin elasticity, making it effective against acne and other conditions of the skin, as well as helping slow signs of premature aging like fine lines and wrinkles.
As well as its antioxidant benefits, lemon balm can also serve as an effective respiratory health remedy, with high concentrations of vitamin C, polyphenols, and terpenoids that act as decongestants to ease coughs, colds, sore throats, and sores. Furthermore, its properties help clear excess nasal passage phlegm while relieving breathing difficulties such as asthma.
Note, however, that some individuals can experience drug interactions when taking pomelo with certain medications. Therefore, before adding this citrus fruit to your diet plan, it would be prudent to seek advice from an Ayurvedic physician.