Page:Foods and their adulteration; origin, manufacture, and composition of food products; description of common adulterations, food standards, and national food laws and regulations (IA foodstheiradulte02wile).pdf/393

 Its profitable cultivation at present is confined to the extreme southern part of the Florida peninsula.

The mango is an evergreen tree. In Florida, under favorable conditions of growth, it reaches as high as 40 or 50 feet. It makes a tree of graceful appearance with a dense, dome-shaped top. The color of the mango fruit is varied; it may be red, green, or yellow, or a mixture of these colors. The tree and fruit both possess an agreeable odor, and every part of the tree, almost, can be of some economic value. The ripe fruit is a delicious dessert and is wholesome. It is often recommended for its medicinal properties. The rind and fiber, as well as the unripe fruit, are acid and full of tannin, which makes them astringent to the taste. Mangos may be eaten in the raw state, and they are also valued for making preserves, pickles, marmalades, and jelly. A very popular sauce known as mango chutney is prepared from the mango and is largely used in the United States and England, being mostly imported from India. The appearance of the tree is shown in Fig. 52.

Oranges (Citrus aurantium).—This fruit is characterized by its delightful flavor and by the distribution of certain aromatic oils, especially in the rind, which give it a peculiar aroma and flavor. The orange has a thick yellow rind which, while edible, is not usually eaten, but is the source of valuable essential oils. A large part of the orange, as far as weight is concerned, is not usually eaten; usually from 25 to 40 percent of the weight is in the rind or some inedible portion. The ash of the orange is usually less than one-half of one percent. The predominant organic acid of the orange is citric, although other organic acids are present. The quantity of protein present in an orange is very small, usually not exceeding very much a half of one percent. The quantity of sugar varies greatly in different samples. It is present both as cane sugar or sucrose and as reducing or invert sugar. In the very sweet orange the quantity reaches as high as 10 percent or even greater, while in the sour orange it is less. The principal food value of the orange, as far as nutriment is concerned, is its sugar. The orange, however, has other valuable properties, especially from a hygienic standpoint, aside from its nutriment. The organic salts which it contains, the organic acids, and other condimental material make the orange an exceptionally wholesome fruit, exercising a beneficial effect upon the digestive process and especially aiding in the passage of the undigested food through the alimentary canal. The orange is a fruit which has lasting keeping qualities. It is not unusual to see ripe oranges which are edible hanging on the same tree with the blossoms which are blooming for the next year's crop. In California and Florida the oranges begin to ripen in November and may be continuously harvested until the following April, if it be advisable to leave them on the tree for that length of time. Owing to the thick and resistant skin of the orange, it can be kept for a long time without material deterioration after harvesting, if