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ALL ABOUT FLORIDA CITRUS
SO, WHAT IS CITRUS FRUIT?
It comes from flowering, evergreen shrubs or trees that belong to the Rutaceae family. Citrus, or the “golden fruit,” can be perfectly round like some oranges, or oblong, like many grapefruit. The fruit is full of fragrance, flavor and juice that, in turn, is full of citric acid, which can give it a sharp flavor as in most lemons. Much citrus, however, is purposely bred to produce sweet juice, such as Valencias, Temples and Honey Bells. While oranges account for 70% of all citrus fruit grown, the variety of fruit produced by the numerous natural and cultivated hybrids is almost endless. Honey Bells, Tangelos, Ortaniques, Lemons, River Gold, Crimson Flame and Ruby Red Grapefruit, Sunburst and Honey Tangerines name but a few.
FLORIDA CITRUS IS GOOD FOR YOU AND GOOD FOR OUR ECONOMY.
 Our Florida citrus and citrus juice is rich in Vitamin C and folic acid and is a good source of fiber. At the same time, it is fat free, sodium free and cholesterol free. How good can it get? In terms of value in our world economy, citrus ranks # 1 among all fruits grown. In Florida, citrus is our largest agricultural commodity. To brag a bit, we’re the world’s largest producing region of grapefruit and second only to Brazil in oranges. We have over 107 million bearing citrus trees on over 830,000 acres. We produce more than 80% of all the citrus in the United States, and our citrus industry is currently valued at 9.3 billion dollars. Wow!
WHERE DID FLORIDA CITRUS COME FROM?
Citrus originated in Southeast Asia, but Florida’s citrus came with the first Spanish and Portuguese explorers. On his second trip in 1493, Christopher Columbus brought seeds of citrus trees and had them planted near what is currently St. Augustine. You can find citrus trees all over Florida, but the major commercial production areas are in the southern part of the state. And even there, the groves now are being crowded inland by our growing population and development.
CITRUS HAS RICH HISTORY IN FLORIDA, OR HOW THE ORANGES GOT ON OUR LICENSE PLATES.
 From the 1500’s planting by the Spanish settlers to the present time, citrus has played an important, if not dominant role in Florida. Our sandy soil and subtropical climate are an ideal growing environment. The planting and cultivation of the trees spread quickly as the population of the state grew. Orange trees were the fruit trees of choice until the early 19th century when a French Count, Odet Phillippe, planted a grapefruit grove near Tampa on the west coast of the state. Lacking evidence to the contrary, you have to wonder if this Frenchman didn’t plant his first grove expecting to establish a vineyard for grape cultivation, rather than a grove of trees producing fruit that looked absolutely nothing like grapes! Commercial growing of citrus continued to expand, and by 1894 production totaled 5 million boxes.
Improved rail transportation, sponsored by the state and pioneered by Henry Flagler and Henry B. Plant, allowed the northeastern United States to become a major market for the consumption of Florida citrus. Disaster struck Florida and its citrus business with the Great Freeze of 1894-95. The vast majority of citrus groves were totally wiped out by that event, with only groves in the Miami area being spared. The resilient citrus growers found the courage to plant their groves again, this time mostly in the southern part of the state and in areas close to the temperature-moderating Gulf and Atlantic waters.
FLORIDA CITRUS LABELS
  Florida citrus was being shipped everywhere in the US and Canada in wooden crates that carried very little identification or enhancement until around 1904. Floridians had noticed that their competitor, California, in an attempt to catch up, had started to use colorful labels pasted to the crate ends to enhance their product. Not to be outdone, Florida growers created their own distinctive labels and continued to do so until the shortage of wood during World War II caused the switch to cardboard shippers. The labels usually included colorful art depicting Florida’s exotic flowers, birds, animals, Native Americans or the particular region the fruit was grown in, such as the Indian River. In recent years the “collecting” phenomenon extended to these labels and that, in turn, has caused discarded, unused inventories of grower labels to surface and to be traded and sold.
CITRUS WENT TO WAR.
  Like many favorite foods, Florida citrus all but disappeared to its civilian fans during the Second World War. Confident that the war would not last long and not wanting to be forgotten, the Florida growers through the Florida Citrus Commission financed a series of advertisements in major magazines of the time to tell their loyal fans why their favorite juice couldn’t be found at the grocery store.
FLORIDA CITRUS TOWER
 An outstanding example of the ever-changing nature of citrus production in Florida is a tower in Clermont, Florida. Built in 1956, this 226 foot structure on its natural elevation of over 200 feet was built to allow visitors to be awed by the sight of miles and miles of orange groves visible from its top. Visitors now, however, see only miles and miles of residences and glimpses of the tallest buildings of Mouse Land in the distance.
FL0RIDA CITRUS’S OWN P.T. BARNUM
 Florida’s citrus industry was started with seeds brought by Portuguese- backed explorers, plantings nurtured by the first Spanish settlers, and then by a French Count. But an Italian immigrant should be credited with the current popularity of Florida citrus. Anthony T. Rossi, a self-educated mathematician and engineer, emigrated from Sicily to New York, where he began to display his marketing genius. Owner of several businesses including a grocery store, Rossi created gift boxes of Florida citrus fruit to be resold by Macy’s and Gimbel’s department stores. These citrus gift boxes became quite popular and financially lucrative. Expanding his ownership of businesses, which already included a farm, cafeteria, a large restaurant and a citrus packing plant, Rossi quickly saw the potential in the year-round demand for fresh orange juice. In 1947 he purchased a small orange juice company in Bradenton, Florida, and thus began the Tropicana Products Company. By 1954 Rossi had invented and patented a process to pack pure orange juice in bottles, allowing it to be shipped and stored without refrigeration. Pure orange juice, for the first time, could be offered to ready consumers year-round. An endless promoter of Florida OJ, Rossi’s marketing genius showed again with the ship SS Tropicana. It carried 1.5 million gallons of fresh orange juice and made weekly runs from Florida to New York in 1957. By 1970 Rossi was sending a mile-long Tropicana Juice Train on a weekly run from Florida to the New York area. Spearheading numerous advertising campaigns to drive sales of Florida orange juice, Rossi was responsible for the all-time favorite and best-known jingle, “A day without Florida orange juice is like a day without sunshine.”
Eat your heart out, P. T.!
Best Place to Order Florida Citrus Fruit Gifts Online
Black and White Photos courtesy of Florida State Photographic Collection
Shipping Florida Citrus Gifts and Baskets
Since 1946
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