Oranges From Down Under
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (129176)
Gainesville, Florida
November 12, 2026 12:34pm CST
I live in the state of Florida, which for decades was the undisputed capital of the citrus industry in the US. However, a series of freezing winters, followed by an outbreak of citrus canker, and most recently citrus greening, has devastated the Florida citrus industry. Despite the setbacks--and also despite explosive population growth--the industry is still surviving; we just aren't king of citrus anymore. I believe that title goes to California now.
So, it was not surprising when I went to the grocery store recently and saw some imported citrus. But what did make it so surprising is where it was imported from; most of our imported citrus comes from Brazil in South America, but these particular oranges came from Australia, the land Down Under. It's the first time I have seen citrus from Australia.
I immediately thought of our wonderful myLotter Judy, who lives in Western Australia, and in her honor I decided I would buy and give these oranges a try. They are cara cara oranges, a pink and juicy variety I have never heard of before. I tried one as soon as I got home from the store, and I will admit they taste wonderful!
Have you heard of, or tried, cara cara oranges before? Are you the adventuresome type that will try new varieties of fruits or vegetables? I am one of those people who will try anything at least once!
@JudyEv, have you had these oranges before?
7 people like this
8 responses
@wolfgirl569 (142617)
• Marion, Ohio
1h
I don't really like oranges so wouldn't try them.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
27m
@wolfgirl569 That's okay, we can't expect everybody to like everything that is out there. Do you eat any citrus at all, like lemons, limes or grapefruits?
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
1h
What???? You don't like oranges? I eat one every day!
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (214997)
• United States
4h
The first time I had Cara Cara oranges I absolutely loved them, but the next bags I got weren't as good which was disappointing.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
4h
Very interesting! I have never even seen or heard of these types of oranges, but so far I really like them! I hope if they have them again next week when I shop that I can grab another bag of tasty oranges. I eat an orange every day at lunch, as well as a banana every morning for breakfast.
Have they always been available where you live?
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (214997)
• United States
4h
@moffittjc I think they are only available at specific times of the year...like now through Christmas..but I could be wrong about that.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
4h
@snowy22315 You are probably right. There is only a limited amount of time that citrus trees produce fruit based on their climate. That's why when it's off-season here in Florida we see a lot of citrus imported from Brazil, because off-season here is on-season there! And since both Australia and Brazil are both in the southern hemisphere, it must be the right time there for their citrus to ripen.
@FourWalls (90421)
• United States
5h
Are they packaged in something that looks like a kangaroo? Or “tastes great with vegemite”? 
That’s cool that you’re still getting oranges. I hate it about the canker though.
That’s cool that you’re still getting oranges. I hate it about the canker though.1 person likes this
@FourWalls (90421)
• United States
4h
@moffittjc — from what I’ve heard, except durian. 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
4h
That would be funny if they came in a package that looked like a kangaroo. And does anything taste great with Vegemite? Wait, let me rephrase that...everything tastes great compared to Vegemite! lol
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (102326)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
1h
I have never heard of these oranges. I know when mom and I lived in NYC she would visit friends in Flroida who had many orange trees and always sent me a box,
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
23m
Growing up, my parents had all kinds of citrus trees growing in our yard. Navel oranges, lemons, limes and pink and white grapefruit meant we never had a shortage of citrus in our home. And we also had mangoes, coconut, avocado and banana trees as well. You definitely don't see many people these days who have fruit trees growing their yards, which is such a shame because they continually yield free food!
@MarieCoyle (65012)
•
5h
I love the Cara Cara oranges. We don't have a lot of Florida oranges up here anymore--and yes, that used to be what we all had available.
Years ago when we went to Florida, as soon as you hit the state line there were oranges. Orange everything! Roadside stand with fresh OJ, many sold items made with oranges, there were orange toys and orange candies...on and on it went. It was fun to stop and see what all orange things were there. Ah, ''the good old days!''
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
4h
It's such a shame that so much of our citrus industry in Florida has disappeared. I don't know which came first...the millions of people moving here taking over the land that used to grow citrus, or the citrus diseases wiping out the crops and causing the farmers to sell the land to developers? Either way, a lot has changed. When I was a kid, everything in central Florida was citrus crops as far as the eye could see. Now, it's houses as far as the eye can see!
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (65012)
•
1h
@moffittjc
Yes, I remember driving past miles of citrus groves. My ex's grandparents would go down there and come back with big sacks of oranges and grapefruit for us all, what a big treat that was!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
1h
@MarieCoyle Interestingly enough, there are still a lot of those roadside citrus stands still operating in Florida. I guess there are still enough orange groves left for them to push their wares in those roadside attractions. I couldn't even tell you where any citrus groves are now in the state, I haven't seen any in decades. But they must still be around somewhere and still producing lots of fruit! I read somewhere not too long ago that the yield has been up for the past couple of years as the industry has started to recover from the citrus greening epidemic.
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
25m
I had never heard of this variety of oranges until today, nor have I seen them in any of our grocery stores. But they taste really good, so I'm going to buy more soon before they all disappear from the shelves!
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
4h
I'm so used to our citrus at this time of year being from Brazil or Argentina that it kinda surprised me when I saw it was from Australia. So, naturally, I had to buy them and give them a try!
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109514)
• Los Angeles, California
3h
Much of Southern California was covered in orange groves prior to WW2 but after all went under to suburban development.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (129176)
• Gainesville, Florida
1h
That's pretty much what is happening to all our orange groves in Florida. As our population continues to boom, more and more citrus groves are being plowed under to make room for suburbia.
1 person likes this
