Honey, My Orange Is Shaped Like A Bell!

Florida was the first place that I had ever tasted the Honey Bell tangelo and we were sure lucky. They are only available for a very short time and since we were here on a press trip courtesy Central Florida Visitors & Convention Bureau in January, they had made sure we visited to taste these exquisite oranges. I had never tasted anything so sweet or juicy. It has an easy to peel skin with very few seeds.

When you place your order for the oranges, make sure you also get a Honey Bell orange zest cake! They are to die for! Now, if you don’t want to, I would just use the honeybell oranges in place of your regular orange juice for the cake and I am sure you will come pretty close to this perfection! You may also try this delicious recipe from their website that I include at the bottom.

Honeybells are a succulent, round citrus fruit often featured in holiday gift baskets. The sweet flavor and abundant juice in honeybells set them apart from other citrus fruits. Considered a tangelo, honeybells are an accidental hybrid between a tangerine or mandarin orange and a grapefruit or pummelo. Honeybells have a distinctive flavor and appearance you just can't resist. The first tangelos appeared in 1897 when the crosses were created by Dr. Walter T. Swingle in Florida. In 1898, similar crosses were made by Dr. Herbert J. Webber in California. Today Florida, California and Arizona are leading locations to grow honeybells and tangelos. Most honeybells are grown today in warm, sunny climates. The climate is Florida is ideal for growing honeybells and tangelos. Honeybell trees are more cold tolerant than grapefruit trees but not quite as hearty as mandarin orange trees. You can find honeybells growing in both commercial and home gardens throughout the state of Florida. Florida tangelos and honeybells are prized for their high quality. Gift baskets are always more special when fragrant Florida honeybells are included. There are several major types of tangelos and honeybells. The Sunrise tangelo, formally called the “K-Early” is a hybrid that matures early. This is not a top quality tangelo. It is sold as “K-Early Citrus Fruit” in accordance with the Official Rules Affecting the Florida Citrus Industry. You won't usually find these tangelos in gift baskets.

The Minneola is the commonly known honeybell we all know and love. Minneola have a deep red-orange peel with loose, easy-to-peel skin and a bell-like neck. Honeybells have up to 12 segments with only about 5-12 little seeds. These luscious honeybells are typically the stars of those fabulous fruit-filled holiday gift baskets. Minneola or honeybell trees need fertile soil, good nutrition and proper irrigation to thrive. The warm Florida climate is a perfect place for honeybells to grow. The honeybells harvested in December and January make perfect holiday presents for friends, family and business associates. Juicy honeybells add sunshine to the chilly winter months for folks all around the country. Thornton are honeybell hybrids created in 1899 by Dr. Swingle. The fruit has a light orange, rather loose peel and a sweet, slightly acidic flavor. Seminole are a hybrid of Dancy tangerine and Bowen grapefruit. They honeybells are deep red orange with a tight but easily removable peel. Both honeybells are only available until March. Orlando tangelos are round with a deep orange peel and 12 to 14 segments. These sweet, juicy honeybells are considered a commercial fruit in Florida. An Orlando is a hybrid of a Dancy tangerine and Bowen grapefruit. Orlandos are also grown and harvested in Texas. Warm climates are the best places to grown succulent honeybells.

The next time you receive a gift basket filled with honeybells, you'll remember the history and stories behind these alluring citrus fruits. Honeybells bring a warm burst of flavor and color to holiday gift baskets during one of the chilliest times of year.

Most bakers agree that the use of Florida Honeybell oranges instead of the native orange makes for a better dish or dessert. One of their favorite recipes is the Honeybell Triple Layer Cake.

It has an orange curd filling and a fabulous orange frosting. The Orange curd filling is very easy to make. It can be used as a filling for cakes or donuts. The ingredients required include:

2 tsp of gelatin unflavored 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice 1 1/2 cups of sugar 8 large egg yolks 2 or 3 tsp of grated ripe lemon (depends on preference) 1 cup of fresh squeezed Florida Honeybell Oranges 3 tbsp of grated Florida Honeybell Orange peel 1 1/2 sticks of butter or 3/4 cupsThe above ingredients are used to make the curd.

-Now that we have all the ingredients together, it's time to make fabulous Honeybell orange filling. The process is quite simple and takes less than fifteen minutes. -Gather all your ingredients except for the lemon juice and gelatin. -First pour the lemon juice into a small bowl. Now sprinkle the gelatin on top of it. Let these ingredients stand for approximately fifteen minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients. -The remaining ingredients are yolk, Honeybell orange peeling, Honeybell orange juice, lemon peel and sugar. -Combine all these ingredients in a large saucepan or similar dish. The saucepan or dish needs to be heavyweight. -Whisk the ingredients together. -After ingredients are whipped, place saucepan over medium heat, add butter and continue to whip until the orange filling bubbles and begin to thicken. This process should take approximately 10 minutes. The lemon juice and gelatin should be ready to add to this mixture at this point. -Combine the ingredients stirring a little more until the gelatin is completely dissolved. -Remove ingredients from the saucepan then place in a refrigerator dish to chill overnight. -Be sure to cover the filling for best results and enjoy!

Photos and text courtesy Hale Groves

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