I love Hamlins. That was the "status update" of a college-age Facebook friend of mine. When I was her age I would have no idea what to make of this; "Hamlin" would have been as foreign a concept as "Facebook friend." But from this vantage point, I am thrilled!
A Hamlin is a variety of early orange grown here in North Florida. It is the sweetest of them all, with few seeds - and a not-so-perfect-looking skin. Thanks to farmers markets selling local food, many more of us know the names of oranges, and our personal favorites. We look forward to their particular season within the general orange growing season. We love them, as one can only actually love something in its particularity (as Wendell Berry would say).
Are we learning to be particular about our oranges here in Florida? When I was a young girl growing up in a suburb built on an orange grove, I couldn't tell you the difference between the oranges my mother brought home from Publix - or whether they were grown in Florida or California. Slow as it goes, some things are changing for the better. It warms my February heart.
My personal favourite orange here in Europe is the blood orange, in particular the Tarocco variety grown in Sicily.
Back home we have an 'indigenous' type of orange - really a clementine - called a naartjie. It is almost fizzy when you bite into it, always sweet and incredibly fragrant (the peel is dried and used as a baking/cooking ingredient).
Unfortunately you never see it overseas and it is getting rare even in South Africa.
I think farmers markets are great in that you not only become aware of what season produce fits into, but you also discover local varieties that for one reason or another are not suited to mass production, but invariably taste so much better than any commercially grown crop...
Posted by: Robert | February 15, 2010 at 02:33 PM