The Seville Orange

The first thing that caught my eye in Spain was a beautiful, juicy orange hanging on a tree by the road. A wonderful fruit, a strong aroma and that heavenly colour. It hung there peacefully on a tree right by the main street. With every passing moment my mouth watered more and more. Go on, pick it and eat it! — Kaja shouted.

I grabbed the plump fruit, quickly peeled off the skin and sank my teeth into it. And then came the jarring shock. Vile, sour, bitter! A revolting taste spread through my whole body! How can anyone eat this? Standing there like a fool and grimacing, all I could hear was laughter. Now I know that it was a Citrus aurantium — the bitter orange.

This revolting fruit, sometimes called the sour orange, the Seville orange or bigarade, serves as an ornament and a medicinal plant rich in essential oils and flavonoids. You don't eat it raw! But I just had to try it.

Terribly annoyed by the taste of the orange, I began to study it closely. And it was all over the city. On every street grew trees that proudly held their fruit up to the sun. The mere sight of them turned my mouth sour. It may well have medicinal properties, but its taste is dreadful. How can the Spaniards make jam out of it? Bleh. I only got over it once I learned that this nasty thing is used to make Curaçao. Now that tastes much better.

Besides, moving around the city, I always had the colour orange before my eyes. I suppose I just got sick of it all, because since coming back to Poland I haven't eaten a single citrus fruit. Apples, on the other hand, I can now munch on non-stop.