and these may have been their original
attraction, well before human selection
developed varieties with sweet juices. The
improved varieties do have a refreshing, tart
to sweet-tart juice that can be extracted with
little pulp. The peel is rich in gel-making
pectins. And citrus fruits are also fairly
robust. They’re nonclimacteric, so they retain
their quality for some time after harvest, and
the meaty peel offers good protection against
physical damage and attack by spoilage
microbes.
Citrus Anatomy Each segment of a citrus
fruit is a compartment of the ovary, and is
stuffed with small, elongated bags called
vesicles, each of which contains many
individual microscopic juice cells that fill
with water and dissolved substances as the
fruit develops. Surrounding the segments is a
thick, white, spongy layer called the albedo,
usually rich in both bitter substances and in