Oranges: How a Himalayan Citrus Colored the West
The 8 million-year-old journey of a fruit that changed how we eat, speak, and see.
In One Day (2024), Dexter Mayhew (Leo Woodhall) peels an orange for Emma Morley (Ambika Mod) as they travel by boat. Dexter gazes out toward the sea and Emma accepts a wedge with a smile. The “Orange Peel Theory” suggests that only someone who truly loves you would peel and share an orange with you, unasked.
In an Indian painting from around 1735, another scene emerges, also alluding to the central role of the citrus. Zulaykha has just bought Yusuf in Egypt and, wishing to show him off, invites her friends to her home, where she serves them oranges. When her female friends see Yusuf, his divine beauty enamors them and they accidentally cut themselves while peeling their oranges with knives.
Though the fruit today might be more synonymous with Florida or Spain, its origins lie much farther east. Eight million years ago, these sweet, tangy orbs could be found in only one place: the foothills of the Himalayas — a region encompassing present-day northeastern India, northern Burma, and western Yunnan in China. A 2023 paper went further back in the past: it found that the precursors to citrus originated 25 million years ago in India, as it was ramming into the Himalayas. Today, one fruit from the subcontinent shapes everything from language to color theory and our most intimate expressions of care and connection.