Seville oranges
 

Hi all,

A strange kind of question... I've seen photos of streets in Seville with beautiful orange trees covered in oranges. They look great in photos ;) I wonder when is the season to witness that? If we are there in October, will we see any? Say here in Tokyo, cheery blossom season is late March early April (if anyone is looking for a last minute trip idea ;).

I don't know about oranges in Seville, but Seville Oranges, which are bitter and used to make marmalade, have a very short season in the winter. They are coming to the end of the season now.

I saw oranges on trees in Granada and Seville at the end of March. They smelled wonderful. Was surprised to find out that all those oranges are for jams as they are sour.

The oranges in Sevilla blossom in the spring and you can see them in the trees until far in the summer. I don't know about October but they are still abundant in June.

I remember seeing Rick Steves walking through the streets of Seville and his guide was mentioning that the oranges are sour and used for jams only. I think that video was filmed in April. That said, we are going in October, so it sounds like it might not be in our luck to see them. And I bet we are going to be too late for orange tree flowers.

A Seville orange:

IMG_6364.jpg

I was there last May and all the trees were full of them. They are pretty but not edible unless cooked according to a local guide.

I could swear I saw them in October -- the only time I have ever been to Seville.

But I'm getting old.

Although they blossom in the spring, you'll find them still in the trees in February, those that haven't fallen to the ground and been swept up by the street sweepers.

So perhaps we'll see them after all. Will have to watch our heads when walking near the trees ;))

....not only your heads - thr rotting ones on the ground can be banana skins.
Last October I skidded on one and sprained my wrist.

There were definitely oranges [and lemons] on the trees in Seville in September 5 or so years ago so you should be able to see some.

Seville oranges, so called in the UK, are a specific variety used for making marmalade which we can only buy during Jan and Feb. [a local supermarket still has some but that's pretty unusual IME].

I was there in October. No sign of oranges or orange blossoms. I'm sure it varies from year to year....

Sorry to hear about your trouble, immimi . Thank you for the heads-up. Walking on old cobble streets is already challenging enough without worrying about oranges!

I visited Seville in late November and the trees in the streets were full of fruit.

As I understand, Seville oranges are harvested in November and December and find their way into the shops from December to February.

I usually make a batch of Seville Orange Marmalade every January when the oranges are in season. This year's was particularly good, augmented by a touch of the Black Grouse.

laverendrye, your jam sounds yummy!

laverendrye - I do the same, making two batches as I've discovered that my hob can't get large quantities to the right temperature to get a proper set [though I've been known to cheat a bit and use jam sugar that's got some pectin in it just to make sure!]

When I've been short of time, I've also bought sevilles in January to freeze and made some more marmalade in July.

Will I be drummed out of the marmalade makers' guild do you think?

No drumming out, annhig. Although Seville oranges are supposed to have enough pectin to give the marmalade a proper set, I now add some pectin to make sure. I've noticed that most commercial Seville orange marmalades list pectin as an ingredient so I don't feel guilty.

Without bragging too much, minimax, my marmalade is quite tasty indeed.