The Indian River Citrus District comprises a narrow strip of land on the eastern seaboard of the State of Florida, stretching 200 miles from the Daytona Beach area to West Palm Beach. In fact, it is so narrow that out of the six counties, which make up the district, St. Lucie County is the only one wholly within its boundaries. There are 21 packinghouses, numerous gift fruit shippers, a number of major citrus sales agencies, and several major citrus processing plants located in the district.
There are several varieties of pink and red grapefruit from Indian River. These include Thompson Pink, Red and Ruby Red among others. All are essentially seedless, with the difference between the Thompson variety and the others being that the others are redder in color. The rind of the red varieties is often also blushed red. These very juicy varieties generally mature between November and May..
Oranges are one of the world’s most popular fruits. There are many varieties of oranges that mature at different times of the year. Originally from the Far East, orange trees do well in Florida’s subtropical climate. They may be eaten fresh, squeezed for juice and may peeled or segmented for use in salads and other dishes.
The fruits of this tree are light-yellow in color and are seedless. These fruits are noticeably lighter in color than the pink and red grapefruit varieties. Originally identified around 1860 near Lakeland, FL, this variety soon became one of the most widely planted. This fruit is oblate to round, are medium in size and the peel is light-yellow in color. It is smooth and mildly aromatic. It matures medium to late in season and it extremely juicy and rich in flavor.