Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is one of the most significant vitamins found in citrus fruits, such as orange and lemon. The presence of high content of Vitamin C in an orange makes orange an excellent food source for meeting the nutritional requirement of Vitamin C in the body.
Vitamin C in oranges is believed to degrade over a period of time. Researches have indicated that frozen oranges or juices contain a high level of Vitamin C as compared to the natural or concentrated fruit. After prolonged period of time freshly squeezed oranges tend to lose its nutritional value and frozen juices remain intact their nutrients because of freezing. It is also believed that the content of Vitamin C in fruits varies in content based upon harvest season and variety of fruits. Some varieties of oranges like the mid season Pineapple Orange and early season Hamlin Orange have higher contents of Vitamin C.
Temperature and position of tree also affect the content of Vitamin C in orange and orange juice. It was found that exposing oranges to high heat and storing for prolonged period also results in decreasing the level of this vitamin. Researches were made on the Valencia Orange fruit, placed on outside of the tree, to reveal the affects of heat, position of tree. It revealed that the fruit when kept for a longer time on the tree had reduced level of Vitamin C. In order to prevent degradation of orange or orange juice Vitamin C, it is essential to keep them in cool places.
Vitamin C in oranges also degrades by the use of fertilizers and pesticides during production. To maintain the optimal level, oranges require good amounts of potassium and use of organic fertilizers. Immature oranges are believed to have higher content of this vitamin and the content reduces during the ripening process.
When storing Vitamin C, orange and orange juice, make sure you use the perfect container that do not react with the vitamin and maintain the level. Glass containers lose about 10% of vitamin after 4 months of storage and cardboard cartoons lose about 20% content after storage of about 4-5 months. Best containers are foil-lined cardboards that are considered to retain almost 90% of the Vitamin C content on storage.