Thursday, December 8, 2005
Learning about the Story of Citrus: Florida's
Natural Visitor Center
One of the things that Florida is known for is, you guessed it,
is orange juice! The citrus industry has been playing a big role
in Central Florida for many decades, and considering its importance,
I wanted to learn a bit more about it.
So with the help of the Orlando
Visitors and Convention Bureau I was able to locate "Florida's
Natural Growers", a citrus-processing cooperative that produces
the well-known "Florida's
Natural" brand of juices. The cooperative was founded in
1933 and today more than 1000 independent growers are part of this
cooperative processing and marketing organization.
Florida's Natural operates a 540 acre fruit processing center in
Lake Wales, about an hour south of Orlando. They are now the largest
employer in the Lake Wales area. The facility also offers a visitor
center which educates tourists on the history of Florida's citrus
industry, and the science and processes behind citrus juice production.
Gift shop at the Florida's Natural Visitor Center
I first viewed a 10 minute video which provided a very good overview
of Central Florida's citrus industry. The organizational structure
of Florida's Natural is quite interesting as well since it is not
a corporately owned juice company like Minute Maid or Tropicana
(owned by Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co. respectively), but rather it is
a cooperative of local farmers that share in the production of the
fruit and the juice. Florida's Natural prides itself in doing things
a little differently from the big juice companies and its unique
nature is reflected in its motto:
- We own the land
- We own the fruit
- We own the company
Orange cultivation was originally introduced by the Spaniards several
centuries ago. Grafting resulted in stronger and more resistant
trees which produced fruit in 3 years instead of 15 years. Fruits
are still picked by hand, put into containers, which are boxed and
shipped by truck to the processing plant.
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Classic orange juice advertising posters
A variety of quality control processes are applied and fruit is
washed and separated by size by grading inspectors. About 95% of
Florida's orange harvest goes to juice production. Florida's Natural
extractor machines can handle about 13 million pounds of oranges
every 24 hours. Once the fruit has been squeezed, a so-called finisher
removes the seeds. Then the juice is flash-pasteurized and packaged.
The key thing about Florida's Natural products is that they are
not made from concentrate, but rather contain only pure unsweetened
fruit juice. Different varieties of orange juice are stored and
blended in order to ensure that the taste is consistent throughout
the different harvests during the year. The organization prides
itself that its juice is as close to the grove as you can get and
it is the fastest growing not-from-concentrate brand. Florida's
Natural 64 ounce cartons are shipped all over the globe.
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Different varieties of citrus fruits |
Historical posters of citrus fruit varieties |
In addition to juice, every part of the orange is used to produce
other products, such as orange oil, for example, while seeds and
peel are processed into cattle feed. Florida's Natural growers also
believe in wildlife conservation and have created wildlife habitat
areas while employing various methods for reducing water usage.
In addition to the video screening theater, the Visitor Center
houses a gift shop in the front and a walk-through display area
that provides information about various themes, including weather,
the history of the citrus industry, the history of citrus juice
packaging, two display panels on the indigenous species of wildlife,
as well as a variety of classic orange juice advertising posters.
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Local wildlife |
Florida's Natural supports the protection of
wildlife habitats |
When I was done with the educational part of the Visitor Center
I explored the Gift Shop where I found all sorts of souvenirs and
citrus-related presents, including citrus-scented candles, jams,
marmalades, creams, t-shirts, books, hats, everything you can imagine
with a citrus theme. I picked up some orange-flavoured (and orange-shaped)
Whetstone Chocolates as treats for my friends at home.
I also got to taste free samples of 4 varieties of juices which
represent a good cross-section of Florida's Natural product line,
which includes different types of orange juice (with varying degrees
of pulp and some with additions of vitamins or calcium), ruby red
grapefruit juice, apple juice, cranberry apple cocktail, lemonade,
raspberry lemonade, and lemonade ice tea.
Dropping by the Visitor Center at Florida's
Natural was a great introduction to one of the most important
industries in Florida and gave me a real appreciation of everything
that goes into producing that healthy, refreshing glass of orange
juice that I enjoy in the morning.
Orlando and Central Florida travel stories:
Orlando Off the Beaten
Path
A visit to the Orange
County Regional History Center
Exploring Orlando's African
American Heritage at the Well's Built Museum
A lovely evening walk around downtown
Orlando's Lake Eola
Visual delights served
up on the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour
A walking tour through quaint
historic Winter Park
Our high-speed adrenaline adventure
at Boggy Creek Airboat Tours
Our picnic lunch by the Kissimmee
waterfront
Exploring picturesque Mount Dora
on the "Herbie Express"
Orlando's Loch Haven Park:
Center of culture and arts
Exploring downtown Orlando's
historic neighbourhoods and parks
Learning about citrus at
Florida's Natural Visitor Center
Architectural and natural
beauty at the Bok Historic Sanctuary
Central Florida: a haven
for naturalists and plant lovers
Central Florida's wildlife:
surprising ecological diversity..
Driving home through St. Augustine:
the oldest city in the US
Articles on Golf in Central Florida:
A first-hand
look at ChampionsGate
A first-hand look at the
Royal St. Cloud Links
A first-hand look at Timacuan
Golf and Country Club
Attending the Father
Son Challenge at ChampionsGate
An overview of golf in the Orlando area:
Orlando- Golf's Ultimate Theme Park
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