Like lemon, orange is also a traditional cultivation of the Sorrento Peninsula, dating back to 1300; at the time it constituted a notable source of income, as it fueled an intense flow of direct exports, by sea, to the main Italian and European markets, so that over the centuries its cultivation has expanded and perfected. And as with lemon groves, orange groves are also protected from the wind and cold by the characteristic pergolas which, by delaying the ripening of the fruit, allow the product to be harvested in late spring. The Sorrento orange is characterized by a fairly thick peel, an abundance of seeds and juice and a rather large caliber. The juice of this orange has been consumed for centuries, as fresh juice, at the characteristic kiosks of Neapolitan water coolers.
Sorrento blond oranges are the basic ingredient of many traditional Sorrento recipes. One of these is the jam of Sorrento oranges, spreadable and with small pieces of pulp and peel: the color is the natural one of the blond orange. This compound is free of preservatives, colorants, thickeners and correctors. The preparation consists in cooking the peeled oranges for about an hour with the addition of sugar only. Conservation takes place in sterile glass jars. A traditional product based on Sorrento oranges is blond orange syrup, obtained from the maceration of Sorrento blond oranges, added with sugar and finally filtered. This traditional product is intended for sale in local markets. Another typical traditional product is orange liqueur, similar to limoncello, obtained with the same process with the difference in the use of orange peels instead of lemon peels for the infusion.
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