Nucellar Tarocco Gallo Blood Orange

Tarocco Gallo is one of the principal varieties of blood orange and was unknown in Italy until the 17th century, when it was imported from China by a Jesuit monk. It was depicted by the painter Bartolomeo Bimbi, who worked for the Grand Dukes of Tuscany between the 17th and 18th centuries.
This prized variety, with large fruit and a strawberry aroma, is the most highly valued Sicilian orange in Italy and abroad, due to its colour, low acidity, and properties.
The smooth, orangey yellow rind is thin to medium thick, with a red blush over more than half of its surface.
The fruit is seedless and withstands shipping extremely well. It is grown chiefly in the province of Catania, due to the main characteristic of the variety: its pigmentation, which depends largely on the degree of ripeness of the orange. This process is favoured by the unique day-night temperature fluctuations caused by the presence of snow on Mount Etna.
The red pigmentation appears from late December to January.