Sour oranges find sweet spot in California

Tucked away along a canal beside an imposing mountain grows an 80-acre orchard of oranges so enchanting that each winter I make a pilgrimage to its secluded site. What I find so special is not just the beauty of the grove, typically shrouded in tule mist, with sticky, reddish-brown clay soil, and dark green trees radiant with neon-orange, intensely aromatic fruits. It's also the curious history behind this planting, little known even to longtime locals, though it recently has become California's primary source for sour oranges, the kind used in marmalade.

By David Karp

January 13, 2010