Ever since oranges first appeared in the Middle East, people have been distilling the petals to produce flavorful and aromatic orange blossom water for food preparation.
In the late 17th century, Anne Marie Orsini, Duchess of Bracciano and Princess of Nerola, Italy, used the essence of bitter orange blossoms to perfume her baths. Today, the fragrance continues to gain popularity.
A cross between a pomelo and a tangerine, the orange was originally cultivated by ancient Southeast Asians and is therefore known in many languages as the "Chinese apple". Contrary to what one might expect, the name orange does not actually refer to the color but, instead, comes from the Sanskrit word meaning fragrant.
After thousands of years, fruit trees spread to North Africa in the First Century AD. Later, the Moorish conquest of Spain spread north into Europe. Orange seeds made the journey across the Atlantic with Columbus, spreading rapidly to the warmer regions of North, Central, and South America as and the Caribbean.
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