Fresh Sour Orange - Naranja Agria - available year 'round

They are not pretty, but to cooks in the Caribbean and surrounding countries, they are a well appreciated ingredient.



I had access to fresh sour oranges seasonally at our previous home near Miami and missed them sorely when we moved to Chicagoland. My searches brought up zero results. Of course, the bottled juice is widely available, and I don't mean to present myself as a purist, demanding only 'fresh'. I just thought that the fresh fruit must be here somewhere, sometime of year, at the request of transposed persons wanting a taste of 'home'.

Recently I learned how to search this Forum more effectively, and found mention by Rene G of sour oranges available in February at La Frutería. I called them last week, and indeed, they had fresh sour oranges. They said that they try to have them all year long (= call before making the trip).

Our trip to La Frutería last Friday was a success, and I now have chicken pieces in a sour orange/achote marinade for tonight's grill. The rest of our fruit will be juiced and frozen for later use.

While demand on the LTH Forum for information on locating sour oranges is not likely to be overwhelming, an individual thread for this difficult to find fruit might encourage people to post when sour oranges appear at other markets in the region. For the (probably) few of us that enjoy Caribbean cooking, such information would be greatly appreciated, especially if listed in one thread.

As far as La Frutería goes, I felt as if I had returned to shops in Lauderdale Lakes or Miami. I loved that store the instant I walked in. We left with bottles of jerks and curries and a few very ripe plantains. In a hilarious thread initiated by David Hammond found here, G Wiv posted a series of photos of the well stocked shelves at La Frutería that is worth a look ( . . . and a laugh. Is there a category for 'most hilarious LTH Forum threads'?).


La Frutería
8909 S. Commercial Avenue
Chicago, IL 60617
773-768-4969

If I remember correctly, these are also available at the Rogers Park Fruit Market on Rogers and Clark. The store caters to a similar demographic - Caribbean and African immigrants, among others.

Seconded - I've seen them there. Marketplace on Oakton also carries them on occasion.

You'd be surprised. The topic of naranja agria and where to find it comes up regularly here, especially around Xmas (for lechon/pernil/cochinita pibil, etc). So this is good to know. They also pop up at La Unica and El Mercado based on demand.

NB, I find that what they call naranja agria in Mexico tends to be much less bitter than the true Sevillas one finds in Florida and the Caribbean. As in, you can eat them out of hand. Those pictured look "right" however.

Any recent sightings? I'm always on the lookout for sour oranges but they never show up at my regular stores.

turkob wrote:Any recent sightings? I'm always on the lookout for sour oranges but they never show up at my regular stores.

Not as sure a thing as La Frutería (8909 S Commercial; really an excellent store, and less than a mile from Calumet Fisheries), but you can usually find naranjas agrias at Armitage Produce, a very nice Puerto Rican market.



I never bought any at Armitage Produce. They look somewhat more like regular oranges than the ones at La Frutería.

Armitage Produce
3334 W Armitage Av
Chicago
773-486-8133

I'll be looking for these specifically on Wednesday to marinate my Pernil for Christmas dinner. I hope Armitage Produce has em. Cannot wait!