But last week while at the store I grabbed a bag mandarin oranges (brand name "Cuties") and noticed that the inside of the peel was, in fact, a brilliant orange color (I'm not sure if the photos above quite reproduce the intensity of the color).
So I started searching the 'net. The company's website reports that there are two types of "Cuties". Apparently the bag I purchased must have been Murcott mandarins:
California Cuties are actually two different fruits: Clementine mandarins and Murcott mandarins. Clementine mandarins are harvested from mid-October through mid-January; Murcott mandarins from mid-January through April.The website and the product fact sheet make no mention of artificial dyes; the only notation on the package label refers to wax on the external surface.
I found one blog post addressing the curious color of the inside of these oranges, at The Scientist Gardener. One enterprising reader of that blog contacted the company:
"I went to the source--Cuties themselves and posed the question. This is their reply: Thank you for your inquiry. Cuties are not dyed. The color you see is a natural occurrence."At Little Locavores, I found that there is a food dye approved for use on oranges - Citrus Red No. 2. That dye is prohibited in California, where Cuties come from. Wikipedia has this to say about the dye:
As a food dye, it is permitted by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1956 only for use in the United States to color the skin of oranges. While the dye is a carcinogen, it does not penetrate the orange peel into the pulp.That's all the information I have for now.
I've often wondered if Clementines were dyed to simulate that brilliant orange rind. Glad to hear that California has banned its use as we go through several boxes of "Cuties" when they're in season.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note; my 3 year old grandson called them pleasantines so everyone in our family uses that name too.
I'm a graduate student doing some work on climate (modeling air transport to be more precise) so I was curious about the use of the word "albedo" here. In my field albedo is the all-important reflection coefficient (essentially just the percentage of solar radiation reflected off a surface). It has huge impact on climate as you can imagine.
ReplyDeleteApparently it can also refer to the "mesocarp" of some fruits as well as one of the four stages of alchemy, according to Wikipedia disambiguation. And then Carl Jung used the word for some psychological ideas...sheesh!
Wait. Are we the only ones who zest oranges? Or I guess I should say, "Were we the only ones zesting oranges?"
ReplyDeleteI've always noticed that oranges are sold in red mesh bags, presumably to make yellow oranges look orange. I've even noticed that citrus sellers at the farmer's market use red awnings, possibly for the same purpose
ReplyDeleteWhile the dye is a carcinogen, it does not penetrate the orange peel into the pulp....
ReplyDeleteSo much for my recipes that call for the addition of some orange peel!
(In addition, the juice from a squeezed peel is highly flammable)
My Fruit Survey team been surveying both clementine and murcott mandarins imported from the US - I must ask if there was a difference in colour between the two varieties, although I don't recall seeing anything that bright in the survey photos....
ReplyDeleteKathryn, to the best of my (older man's) memory, the small oranges I was eating earlier in the winter had a pale albedo/rind. At least I only noticed the bright orange color in the last month or so.
ReplyDeleteI presume those earlier in the season were Clementines, and the more recent ones Murcotts, but I can't state that with certainty.
The coloring on these recent batches sure looks artificial to my eye, especially where it seems to "bleed" in at the site of the removed stem, but the company says it's a natural coloration.
How many people wash their hands between peeling and eating an orange? Not many. I have always been suspicious of oranges because of the smell and taste of my fingers after peeling one. Interesting to know that what smells like it might be a carcinogen actually is. I will now wash my hands after peeling oranges every time now.
ReplyDeleteThe orange peel itself is not harmful. There's an old recipe for candied orange peels--you blanch the heck out of 'em to get the bitterness under control, and then boil them in sugar water until they become translucent. Very good.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that bought ones might be dyed. No candied orange peel from store-bought oranges, I guess.
The Good Prof said:
ReplyDelete(In addition, the juice from a squeezed peel is highly flammable)
I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that's because it's oil, not juice.
The juice comes from inside the fruit; the rind/peel/whatever contains a small amt of oil. It's often used as a furniture polish ingredient - lemon oil, orange oil, etc.
That makes sense, anon. I also checked Wikipedia:
ReplyDeleteOrange oil is an essential oil produced by glands inside the rind of an orange fruit. It is extracted or steam distilled as a by-product of orange juice production. It is composed of mostly (greater than 90%) d-limonene,[1] and is therefore often used in place of pure d-limonene, which can be further extracted from the oil by distillation...
The composition of orange oil varies for several reasons. Region and seasonal changes as well as the method used for extraction lead to these variations. Several hundred compounds have been identified with gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry. Most of the substances are part of the terpene group with limonene being the dominant one. Long chain aliphatic hydrocarbon alcohols and aldehydes like octanol and octanal are second important group of substances...
You learn something every day. Thank you!!
Very interesting! I've always thought that late-season clementines taste better than early-season ones - now I know they're two different varieties.
ReplyDeleteI'm an old guy and tried to determine what is going on with mandarin oranges. This is the first time I see this very artificial looking color under the skin. Made me think it has to be dyed. Made me think who needs to eat these any longer.
ReplyDeleteLast month my sister-in-law told us the Cuties she bought said right on the box that they were dyed (we live in San Diego), and also listed the pesticides that had been used on them. I haven't looked at a box myself yet (in fact I found this site while trying to find an article that could confirm or deny what she said). Now I'm very intrigued.
ReplyDeletethanks, CapnRon77. I ought to get another batch from the store and see if anything has changed here.
DeleteThey probably were not the Cuties brand. The FDA requires them to be labeled with pesticides and dyes used, and the Cuties company themselves state they use neither with their fruit. I've never seen anything but "food-grade resin or wax" listed on our Cuties in Illinois. However, that is not the case with other brands of the small citrus, especially those from other countries like Chile.
DeleteI found this blog as I was trying to find out why my bag of Cuties looked/tasted/smelled differently...and even made my eyes water after opening it. The first mandarin I pulled out of the bag (1/31/13...so I guess it's a "Murcott?") felt smoother than the ones I'm used to...and then looked way too orange as I opened up the peel. It looked like the pictures posted above. I also am not used to the excessive fluffiness of the white part that is found in the middle of citrus fruits. It also tasted different..as if it had marinated in clorinated water or something. To say the least, I'm not liking these. I'm throwing them out before my son gets a hold of them and am going to write to Cutieskids.com.
ReplyDeleteMy son, who is sensitive to food dyes, has been out-of-sorts lately... the timing coincides with his Cuties consumption. Every time I peeled one, I thought they looked artificially orange. The box mentions wax to retain freshness, and on the bottom it lists several possible chemicals that may have been used in transit. I am definitely looking for some answers!
ReplyDeletewhy in the world would the FDA allow a known carcinogen to be put on a food product. Absolutely pathetic. A lot of people use the peel, or would like to, and many bite into the peel to start the peeling process. I find it very hard to comprehend why a group that is supposed to insure food safety would allow proven cancer causing chemicals to be anywhere near, let alone on, a food item.
ReplyDeleteBOYCOTT and speak out are our only options to stop this insidiousness, which is allowed, due to big money doing the talking.
This may or may not be related... But in season I can eat several mandarins in an evening. Last night I ate five and this morning in my spinning class under the fluorescent lights, my fingers glowed a fluorescent orange. I've never seen that before and don't know what else it could be due to other than the oranges.
ReplyDeleteCat pee lights up under black lights; not sure about fluorescent ones.
DeleteHi - thank you for posting this. I bought USDA labeled organic clementines last week from Aldi - and they are from Mexico and - they look dyed just like your photos! I'm scared to eat them now and wondered if you have any additional information since you wrote this. I'm shocked as these are labeled "USDA ORGANIC". :( thank you!!
ReplyDeleteS - I've not looked into this any further since writing the post for the blog two years ago.
DeleteI'm eating one as i read this blog, and i suddenly threw it out before finishing it. omg. I do not believe this isn't die. I know 'natural,' and this orange isn't a natural color. so either the stickers are counterfiest, or the company is using the dye secretly (maybe w/o the dye the oranges would be too yellow or something.) I'm much more inclined to follow common sense from obvious fake color than beleive one worker's word over the phone. now, if they can send you something in writing, that's a bit more believable. peace everyone. and eat organic local.
ReplyDeleteit's dyed. either from Mexico (or wherever) with a counterfeit sticker, or the CA company is dying it and maybe not telling the customer service reps. both scenarios happen all the time in this world. buyer beware. I ONLY buy any orange organic because of this.
ReplyDeleteYour two comments are inconsistent. In this one you say you ONLY buy organic oranges. But in your other comment three minutes earlier you said you were eating one of these dyed oranges right now.
DeleteI suspect you're faking your identity and motivation. Care to explain?