Blood Orange: Amazing health benefits, Safety and fun facts of strange hybrid fruit: Nuturemite

This orange comes from Sicily, Italy. The fruit is very expensive because it only grows in certain places in Italy. The taste of this blood orange is like raspberry, a sweet-sour taste with a strong flavor. Thus, the experts named this, a blood orange, as it is the most delicious dessert in the world. This blood orange is available in winter around December-May. Blood orange has a hard skin and is hard to peel compared to other oranges.

Benefits of blood orange

1. Overcome scabies – Scabies can be treated with blood orange because of the vitamin C content in this orange. Vitamin C in this orange can also use to treat bleeding gums.

2. Rich in antioxidant – The well-known antioxidant function is to fight free radicals that can cause cancer or damage to the blood vessels and organs in our body. Therefore, with the enormous amounts of antioxidants and vitamin C in this orange, our bodies can be protected from dangerous diseases. The results of a study also showed that anthocyanins can help the body fight off diseases caused by age. Undoubtedly, the anthocyanin content of the blood orange can help the body heal itself.

3. Makes your bones strong – Calcium in the blood orange works well to keep bones, healthy and strong. There are another ways to make your bones strong, that is Exercise. In addition, wear bone can also be repaired by calcium. This benefit is very useful for all of us, especially for postmenopausal women and for people who are suffering from osteoporosis.

4. Useful for pregnant women – Blood orange has a role in the formation of red blood cells. This benefit is needed by the fetus. Other things that can keep the fetus healthy is health benefits of chocolate during pregnancy for fetal growth. The formation of red blood cells is aided by the presence of a folic acid or known as vitamin B9 inside the blood orange. Other than that, blood orange can also increase hemoglobin in the body. A study also shows that folic acid can help the body to fight some types of cancer and heart disease.

5. Benefits for the liver – Blood orange can help to reduce fat in organs such as liver, pancreas, etc. This orange can also reduce belly fat. Therefore, blood orange can help improve the performance of organs and help the function of individual organs. It can also help detox liver.

6. Improves Digestion – Blood orange is rich in fiber content. Fiber is needed for the body because it can help in the digestion and can make blood glucose levels in the body become normal.

7. Wound Healing Faster – One of the antioxidant benefits of the blood orange is to help blood formation and help the coagulation process that is needed to heal wounds. In addition, it also serves to prevent infection of the wound. This is very beneficial for people who are suffering from diabetes because it can prevent complications in the diabetic foot.

8. Vitamin A for the eyes and body – One of the contents of blood orange is vitamin A. We all know that vitamin A can help in maintaining certain tissue health such as the retina, thus helping our eyes stay healthy.

9. Benefit for our skin – Besides the benefits for the eyes, vitamin A content in blood orange is beneficial for our skin too. Cooperation between vitamin A and retinoids in the blood orange can make the skin look younger.

10. Overcome infections – Indeed, our bodies get a lot of benefits from antioxidants and vitamin C. Besides the benefits we have discussed above, another benefit of antioxidants is to reduce inflammation in the body. Thus vitamin C has a function to boost the body’s immune to protect our body from getting easily affected by infection.

11. Blood orange can help us avoiding obesity – Blood orange has a lot of water content that can make us feel full quickly and make us full longer without lowering our energy level, so we can keep working without the need for a lot of caloric intake. So, by consuming blood orange we can lose weight. And, of course, by consuming it, we can avoid obesity that is usually caused by eating too much.

12. Overcome headache – Another great benefit that owned by blood orange is overcoming headaches. Blood orange can be a source of ingredients for making oil. Then, this fragrant of oil of blood orange can be a good aromatherapy to relieve headaches and even migraines. By massaging it on the forehead, this blood orange oil can relax your mind and body.

13. Heart Disease – Research also showed that this blood orange can be our body’s protector from carcinogens. In addition, according to nutrition experts, anthocyanin has anti-inflammatory properties that can affect collagen and also good to prevent cancer, diabetes and bacterial infections and reduce the risk of heart disease.

14. Stop Wrinkles on Skin – Because of that cooperation can help the skin avoid the development of fine lines and wrinkles, which as a result make our skin, stay healthy and glow.

15. For Teeth Health – In addition, the content of vitamin A is beneficial to keep our skin healthy and assist in the development of a routine network of skulls and teeth. Vitamin A is also beneficial during Pregnancy.

Adding blood oranges to your diet

You can eat it right away or make it into a fresh juice. Or, you can use this fruit as a complement to your salad. The other alternative is you can slice the blood orange to complement your own homemade pudding or make other drinks using it.

The blood orange can be consumed anytime in the day.

Side effects

There are no proved side effects if consumed in moderation.

Recipe for  Blood Orange  Jal Jeera

Cumin spiced Blood Orange and Citrus Cooler

 

Makes about 6-8 glasses

Ingredients

3 blood oranges

2 sweet navel oranges

5 clementines

1 lime or lemon

For every 1/2 cup of juice:

1 tbsp cumin for dry roasting

1 tsp black pepper freshly ground

1/2 tsp black salt

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp dried mint powder

1 tsp crushed jaggery /brown sugar

1 1/2 cups cool water or room temperature

fresh mint for garnish

Instructions

Extract juice from all the citrus fruits including the blood oranges in a citrus juicer or squeeze by hand. Makes about 1-1/2 cups juice. For the Jal jeera, I have used 1-1/2 cups water for every 1/2 cup juice.

Roast the cumin seeds in a skillet until fragrant and crackling without burning. Grind to a powder in a mortar and pestle and keep aside.

Mix 1-1/2 cups cold water to 1/2 cup juice. Sprinkle roasted and freshly ground cumin, freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, black salt, jaggery and dried mint crushed between your fingers and thumb.

Taste and adjust spices, salt and jaggery as needed or add more juice or water to suit your taste. Jaggery neutralizes salty, sour and hot tastes. So adjust accordingly.

Serve cold garnished with a sprig of fresh mint.

Recipe for Blood orange tart

PREP: 1 HR, COOK: 1 HR, plus 2 hrs chilling, SERVES 10 – 12

Ingredients

4 large eggs, plus 2 yolks

175g golden caster sugar

200g full-fat crème fraîche

 2 blood oranges, plus 300ml juice

Juice of 1 lemon

a little icing sugar, to dust

For the pastry

250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

120g cold butter, diced

100g icing sugar

1 large egg, separated

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 blood oranges

Method

First, make the pastry. Put the flour, butter, icing sugar and 1/4 tsp salt in a food processor and pulse until you can’t feel any lumps of butter. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, orange zest and 2 tsp cold water, and pulse again until the pastry starts to clump together in pieces. Tip onto your surface and gently bring together into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to line a 23cm round tart tin, about 3cm deep. Pinch any overhanging excess back down the outside of the tin (to trim after baking), prick the base with a fork and chill for another 30 mins.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line the pastry with a big sheet of scrunched up baking parchment, then fill with baking beans or rice. Bake for 15 mins, then remove the paper and beans, and bake for another 5-15 mins until golden brown and crisp. Let the pastry cool for 5 mins, then carefully trim the excess pastry with a small, sharp knife. Beat the egg white with a fork, then brush all over the inside and cut edge of the pastry and bake for a further 2 mins – this helps keep the pastry crisp when the wet filling is added.

Remove the pastry case from the oven and lower the heat to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. For the filling, whisk together the whole eggs and yolks, then sieve into a larger mixing bowl. Whisk in the caster sugar, crème fraîche, orange zest and juice, and lemon juice. Lift the pastry case back into the oven and place on the middle shelf. Using a jug, pour the filling into the tart. Bake for 35 mins, until there is just a slight wobble in the centre, when you tap the tin. Cool to room temperature, then chill for 1 hr. Lightly dust with icing sugar, then serve.

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