Ask HN: How do I recreate an orange?

6 points by Wesxdz 5 years ago | 5 comments

I purchased an orange at Walmart and it tasted orders of magnitude better than any other orange I have ever eaten before. The other navel oranges I purchased in the same batch were ordinary, so I believe it was some factor about this orange in particular that caused a different taste. I saved a bit of flesh that was attached inside near the stem entry. What is my best method for recreating this orange: specifically what is the most affordable/accessible way to sequence fruit DNA, can I grow an orange without a seed, and will it ever taste as heavenly if I am unable to replicate environmental conditions?

helph67 5 years ago |

Try to identify the actual grower then ask them for their source of stock (plants). Some other plant types will grow from a leaf or flesh but doubt that oranges do.

Wesxdz 5 years ago | |

The other oranges were from https://kingorange.com/, however the orange I ate didn't have any label (It's likely it was a Kings River Orange though)

maxerickson 5 years ago |

Seems like there is a good chance that it just ripened more than the others.

arthurcolle 5 years ago |

Did you manage to keep any seeds from this orange?

EDIT: Nvm, these are seedless oranges.

Wesxdz 5 years ago | |

From Wikipedia on navel oranges: Today, navel oranges continue to be propagated through cutting and grafting. This does not allow for the usual selective breeding methodologies, and so all navel oranges can be considered fruits from that single, nearly two-hundred-year-old tree: they have exactly the same genetic make-up as the original tree and are, therefore, clones. This case is similar to that of the common yellow seedless banana, the Cavendish, or that of the Granny Smith apple. On rare occasions, however, further mutations can lead to new varieties.