Malta Blood Orange
MALTA BLOOD

A fruit whose origins are shrouded in mysteries--including legends of pomegranates being grafted on orange trees and the injection of iron in the soil of an orange trees roots, the famous fruit with the crimson tinged flesh probably appeared as a spontaneous sport of the common oblong sweet orange grown on the island.  It was propagated by bud grafting and any epigentic tendency toward intensity and pervasiveness of blood coloring was encouraged.  There are debates about when it first appeared as one of the featured fcultivars of Malta.  It was certainly established in the first quarter of the 19th century, so is 18th century in origin at latest.  It was one of the European varieties most avidly sought by pomologists in California, Texas, and Florida.  It was in cultivation in California and Florida by 1870.  Indeed the differences in coloration found in fruits cultivated in different areas became one of the first systematic tracking of the influence of terroir on fruits.

"The Maltese blood orange is one of the choicest and most highly flavored of all the varieties of the orange. it is true that the flavor is not so mild and sweet as some, but in delicate aroma and sprightliness it is scarcely excelled or equalled by any. In size it is about medium, and in shape it is slightly oval. The peel is not so thin as that of some varieties, but the core is unusually small and seeds are quite rare. The name “blood” is attached because of the unusual characteristic red color of the pulp. This, however, varies greatly in different climates; as, for instance, in California it is much more inclined to show the red than in Florida and on the Gulf coast, where, in fact, it sometimes occurs that well-developed specimens have no red color at all, or but the slightest trace. The skin is also thicker in California, and the flavor is more acid than the same van'ety grown cast of the Mississippi river. In the Mediterranean regions, the flesh is almost as red as that of the beet, the skin is quite thick and the flavor tart. As its name indicates, this orange is a native, so far as history goes, of the Island.of Malta, in the Mediterranean sea. It has been known there for many centuries, but not before the Christian era, as the Roman writers make no mention of this or any other variety of the orange at that time." ["Blood Oranges," Good Housekeeping (1892), 252.]

Because the dark green foliate of the tree and the intensity of color of the fruit were so attractive, the Blood orange had a ready clientele of home growers in search of showy fruit.  

Image: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705, Deborah Passmore, 1896

David S. Shields