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Orange BlossomsFlorida and orange juice go hand-in-hand. As far as statistics go, the state is the world's largest citrus-growing region, and its groves produce around 25 percent of the orange juice and 50 percent of the grapefruit juice on the world market. Spanish explorers introduced oranges to Florida in the 16th century, and by the time the first grapefruit was planted in 1825, wild orange trees could be found all over the state. With the improvement of water and rail transportation in the 1880s, citrus growers multiplied in the central Florida region. Their glossy-leaved groves spread south to Indian River, around Fort Pierce, then down to Miami after the frosts of 1894-95. The marvelously fragrant white orange blossom was adopted as Florida's official state flower in 1909; orange juice became the state beverage in 1967.
Florida's citrus fruits come in all shapes and sizes -- hefty Duncan white and rosy-pink grapefruits, oranges, tangerines, tangelos (tangerine-grapefruits), Temple oranges (tangerine-oranges), lemons, limes, and the nut-size kumquat. Marmalade, preserves, candies, orange-blossom honey, and even citrus wine are a tribute to the ingenuity of local residents.
Most citrus fruits require at least 300 days of sunshine and take 12 months to mature. The citrus harvest begins in October with grapefruits and ends in July with oranges. Ripe fruits can be left on the tree for several months, so it is not unusual to see last year's crop surrounded by the new season's blossoms. A mature grapefruit tree can produce around 1,000 fruits each season.
Key Lime Pie The Key lime is a small, round, yellowish-colored fruit that is a Florida specialty, and the essential ingredient of Key lime pie. This delicious tangy dessert is said to have been invented by a cook named Sarah at the Curry Mansion in Key West. However, the exact construction of Key lime pie -- the consistency of the pie crust, and the choice between meringue or whipped cream topping -- remains a contentious issue in kitchens across the state.
Taste Them Fresh!Roadside stalls piled high with fresh fruit and vegetables are a familiar sight throughout Florida. Beyond the Greater Miami city limits, Dade County is one of the top 100 citrus-producing counties in the United States. The winter "market basket" of Homestead is laden with avocados (once known as alligator pears), cucumbers, cantaloupes and watermelons, limes, strawberries, and tomatoes. Buy them fresh from the farmers markets or roadside stalls for a real taste experience.
In the central region, look for glossy purple eggplants, squashes, and okra. There are apples, pears, and pecans in the north.
Black GoldThe fertile drained Everglades region around Lake Okeechobee is another source of fruit and vegetables. It is also the land of black gold -- not oil, in this case, but sugarcane. Its huge sugarcane crop makes Clewiston the sugar capital of the state. Half the nation's raw sugar consumption (around 11.2 million pounds) is hand-harvested here by Jamaican laborers wielding machetes. Clewiston's other claim to fame is its cabbage- palm business, which supplies the fresh hearts of palm dished up in chic Florida restaurants.
The southern corner of the state yields an abundance of exotic tropical fruits. Home-grown bananas, carambolas (star fruit), figs, guavas, and papayas can be found in local supermarkets. The origins of the mango crop can be traced back to a shipment of 35 mango trees delivered from Calcutta in 1888.
Natural HabitatAround the Coast
Florida's east coast is protected from the Atlantic by a string of barrier islands. These islands taper off like stepping stones into the gentle curve of the Florida Keys to Key West, just 90 miles from Cuba. The rounded southern tip of the peninsula is composed of the Everglades, a vast swampland region that stretches over 10 million acres and crumbles into the waterways of the Ten Thousand Islands region off Florida's lower west coast. Sandbars and islands line the west coast and Gulf of Mexico, while the northern Gulf shore, bordering the Panhandle, offers some of the finest barrier-island beaches, blinding white quartz sand washed down from the Appalachian Mountains over thousands of years. Areas of these magnificent coastal dunes are protected as part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Inland
Northern Florida is a land of rolling hills and pine forests, freshwater springs and swift tannin-stained rivers like the Apalachicola, Blackwater, and Suwannee. Below Florida's thin soil, deep fissures in the limestone foundations release freshwater springs fed by subterranean watercourses.
