Citrus flavour

Abstract

The total world production of citrus fruit grew tremendously during the last four decades of the twentieth century. Oranges constitute the largest single portion of citrus produced and currently contribute over 60%of the total world production. This is a decrease from past decades where oranges constituted as much as 70% of total citrus production. The reason for this diminished portion has not been the result of decreased orange production but rather the increased popularity of mandarin fresh fruit cultivars. Orange production tripled between 1961 and 2001, rising from approximately 18,000,000 t in 1961 to 60,000,000 t in 2001. Drought, disease and hurricanes have diminished total orange production in the last 3 years. Sweet oranges will be the major citrus discussed in this chapter because of their overwhelming predominance. However, other citrus cultivars such as lemon, grapefruit and lime are lesser but still important sources of citrus flavours and will also be discussed. © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.