Seville Orange (Bitter Orange)

Seville orange (bitter orange) is a small, thick-skinned citrus with bright orange rind and many seeds. Its juice is sharply acidic and pleasantly bitter, and the intensely fragrant peel is rich in pectin. Cooks use it for classic marmalade, Cuban-style marinades, bitter-orange liqueurs, and candied peel; sold fresh in winter and as frozen juice or dried peel.

Native to Southeast Asia, bitter orange spread via Arab trade to the Mediterranean and became emblematic in Seville, Spain; it later traveled to the Caribbean and Latin America, where naranja agria seasons many dishes. Harvest peaks in winter in Mediterranean climates and subtropical groves.