Here are some guidelines for keeping your noble produce fresh and delicious.
At room temperature, whole navel oranges can last up to a week. The number of days the fruit will remain fresh depends on how hot it gets in the area where you live. Do not cover the fruit with anything as airflow will be important in maintaining freshness.
To prolong life, do not wash or allow the navel oranges to get wet until just before you want to eat them. Excess moisture speeds up the spoiling process.
The best option is to keep your navels whole, and unwashed and in the crisper drawer in your refrigerator, turning them occasionally to allow airflow. Wash just before you eat if you will be cutting through the peel with a knife.
Whole navel oranges do not freeze well. A very bitter compound called limonin may develop when they are frozen.
It is recommended that you don’t freeze whole citrus fruit. Because of its water content and structure, when thawed it will be reconstituted a bit more soggy and with less of its original flavor.
According to the USDA, the Florida tangerine citrus group “has soared in popularity, with per capita availability more than doubling between 2000 and 2022. This broad group includes tangelos, mandarins, clementines, and traditional tangerines. A comparison of per capita fresh tangerine and fresh orange availability over the last 20 years shows the share going to tangerines increasing from 20 to 40 percent.”
The article goes on to say that growth of the U.S. tangerine market coincides with the launch of marketing campaigns for easy-peel seedless mandarins…”