Great-right-now fruits will give you the sunshine you’ve been looking for, especially in the cold and grey winter! Are you feeling curious about how the vitamin C in citrus helps your health and mental wellness? Read on!
While you can buy citrus fruits throughout the year, some varieties reach their peak during the winter months. According to the Mayo Clinic Health System, vitamin C in citrus supports our bodies by forming blood vessels, cartilage, muscle, and collagen in bones and absorbing iron. When your body lacks sunlight, citrus-based vitamin C can help promote healing processes and protect against disease. Peak-season citrus fruits to focus on include oranges, clementines, pineapple, grapefruit, lemons, and limes. Citrus snacking offers one easy way to go, as an orange or a few clementines make a perfect grab-and-go snack. Adding a lemon or lime to your water (or a squeeze of the juice) increases flavor and vitamin C. Mayo Clinic even offers ideas on how vitamin C-rich citrus can brighten main dishes, salad dressings, desserts, and beverages. What about other ways to add some citrus sunshine?
Spritz your citrus with sunny fragrances
As we enter 2024, fragrance experts agree that mood-uplifting citrus notes will fill the air. Anastasia Gostieva, the Scent Guide on Instagram, anticipates a shift in the perfume landscape from indulgent scents to something crisp, effervescent, and lemony. Gostieva says citrus-infused scents will define winter. Notable examples include Goldfield & Banks Ingenious Ginger (vanilla, lemon, and ginger flower) and Arquiste L’Or de Louis Eau de Parfum (with orange blossoms and pomegranate). Another great example comes from Marks & Spencer’s lemon-drenched Discover Intense Fresh Citrus & Moss. Speaking of life giving you lemons, Elle voted Maison Margiela Replica Under the Lemon Trees their favorite unisex citrus scent. British Vogue suggests the classic Acqua di Parma Colonia with an abundance of bright Sicilian citrus as one of their masculine picks for 2024.
Let’s drink to a deeper dive into citrus facts and preferences
According to the World Citrus Organization, citrus fruits rank among the most prominent categories of fruits and vegetables. Citrus production continues to increase with tremendous growth of around 125%. A report from GreyViews anticipates the global citrus flavor market to grow to a height of $2.63 billion by 2030. Highlights of the report believe beverages will become the fastest growing applications for citrus. Germany’s citrus flavor market is projected to hit $380 million by 2030, driven by a growing demand for citrus-infused beers and alcoholic beverages. Perfumer & Flavorist cite the alcohol space as the perfect place to experiment with bold new citrus tastes, from pungent pomelo to Tahitian lime. While traditional citrus flavors like orange, lemon, and lime remain popular, new options include Valencia orange, Meyer and Sicilian lemon, finger lime, and yuzu. Ahead of these flavor moves, drink mixologists have been encouraging the trend of preserving citrus moments as a decorative dried garnish!
Symrise offers citrus solutions year-round
As the demand for citrus tastes increases, Symrise has developed solutions for price and weather fluctuations. By employing sustainable distillation, extraction, and selective enrichment technologies (SET Flavors™), Symrise ensures a dedicated supply with a more authentic taste character. These citrus flavors enhance various applications, including beverages, baked goods, confectionery, dairy, and savory dishes. “Our citrus taste solutions offer improved reliability in terms of quality and availability,” said Richard Hartfall, Citrus Platform director at Symrise. “We are dedicating ourselves to supporting our customers to navigate the challenges of price and supply fluctuations in the citrus market while providing sustainable and high-quality solutions.”
With many health, mood-boosting, and taste benefits, let us know how you plan to add a little citrus zest to your winter months ahead!
