Orange Juice

Orange juice; derived from the juice which is typically squeezed from our friend the orange. It has become a symbol of breakfast and a favorite drink of millions. Every day, Americans rely on their local grocery store to have a constant supply of fresh, relatively processed orange juice. Pulp, non-pulp, and a thousand other varieties keep this promise. Today, it's hard to walk into a store without seeing some type of orange juice on the voyage.

Everybody knows orange juice for its highly beneficial Vitamin C, but orange juice is beneficial in other ways which people overlook. An 8 oz. glass of orange juice contains the following percentage of daily recommendations:

100% Vitamin C (notoriously)

14% Potassium

11% Folic Acid (Folate)

35% Calcium

7% Vitamin B6

18% Thiamin (digestive enzyme)

These high levels of vitamins and minerals as well as a natural taste make orange juice a treasure of the kitchen. And it prevents scurvy! Oh O.J., what would humanity do without you?

Twinsies!

One variety of orange, the Navel Orange (or Riverside, Washington, or Bahia Navel), contains a mutation which also occurs in humans. Navel Oranges mutated on a Brazilian Monastery in 1820, and it was noted that the mutation caused oranges to grow a conjoined twin at the bottom of the fruit. This created a naturally seedless orange, all thanks to the randomisity of DNA. No splicing genes or environmentalists whining about the ethics of genetic modification; just a huge orange without the seeds. To spread the navel orange, a process called grafting was used since the oranges were sterile (unable to produce offspring the normal way). But hey, if you were an orange, wouldn't you give up becoming a tree for a buddy?

Special thanks to Wikipedia and orangejuicefacts.com