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Jaffa Oranges have a thick skin that peels easily. Inside it is a pale orange with only a few seeds, and sweet and juicy.

The orange can be left on the tree and not picked until it is needed.

History
Jaffa Oranges were grown in Palestine and in the Jaffa area before the creation of Israel. Jaffa became the main city for exporting the oranges grown in that area. The quality of the oranges was noted as early as 1886 (by the American consul in Jerusalem, Henry Gillman).

By 1892, the firm Goodyear and Co. was shipping 15,000 to 20,000 cases in season every 10 days to Liverpool, England (each box contained 120 to 150 oranges). The oranges were admitted duty-free into the UK.

Jaffa Oranges are now (2004) being priced out of the market in Europe by oranges from Spain and Greece, which being EU members, can sell their oranges without tariffs applied to them. The oranges are still remembered fondly in the UK, especially through the name of the biscuit called a "Jaffa Cake".

Literature & Lore
Richard the Lionheart is reputed to have brought some Jaffa oranges back to England (though how they'd survive months of journeying on horseback, and all his alleged adventures on the way back, is anyone's guess).

See Also:

Jaffa Cakes

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