Pulp Friction

The orange is a spectacularly versatile fruit that’s used for its juice, skin, pulp and fibrous vesicles that go into cakes, muffins, marmalades, marinades, cocktails, perfumes, cattle feed and for kids’ soccer teams ever. In 16th Century Western Europe, sweet oranges were only enjoyed by the rich who cultivated them in private orangeries, as part of their elaborate gardens. The California Gold Rush increased demand for the fruit because it helped ward off scurvy among the miners, but widespread used of modern oranges didn’t take hold in the US until the 1870s. Now California is the nation’s second largest producer of the fruit after Florida. Americans, a much cosseted people, demand their OJ in five distinct varieties: No Pulp, Some Pulp, Pulp, More Pulp and Most Pulp. Here’s what those categories mean.