Juicy

June 15, 2011 10:11 PM

Help me maximize my Orange Juice Intake while travelling between West Palm Beach and Ocala, FL.

My SO and I are taking an extended roadtrip around/through Florida, and we'd like for tomorrow to be an Orange Juice Centric Day. We are especially interested in roadside orange grove stands.

We are staying at a hotel in West Palm Beach tonight, and plan on staying in Ocala tomorrow night (have been to WDW plenty, so we're skipping it this time) and are looking for advice on routes that will maximize our Orange Juice Intake.

Is there an OJ Highway in central Florida? :)

Thanks!

posted by stewiethegreat to Travel & Transportation (3 answers total)

"... Is there an OJ Highway in central Florida? :) ..."

What's left of any "old Florida" roadside orange juice and citrus fruit stands, are probably best looked for in and around Indian River County (NYT article link), on the East coast of the state. You could start in Vero Beach, at the Indian River Citrus Museum, but it's late in the year for fresh juice, so what few remaining stands you might find, like Harvey's Groves, will be serving the same boxed/bottled juice you'd get by stopping in any Publix store, and buying premium (not from concentrate) Florida grown OJ blends, such as Florida's Natural.

One of the big reasons for the demise of roadside stands, and visits in the groves for tourists is citrus canker. Canker can be spread by people accidentally picking up and distributing the bacteria on clothing and shoes, or on purchased fruit (even if apparently healthy), and so, for all practical purposes, the average tourist will not be allowed to visit working groves, as one means of controlling the spread of this plant disease. With the efforts to avoid drawing people to the groves, the roadside citrus stand business has really died off, as more and more independent growers have been bought out by larger consolidating operations, and grower cooperatives.
posted by paulsc at 12:54 AM on June 16, 2011 [2 favorites]

There is a stand @ I-75 and SR 44 (Inverness / Lecanto / Crystal River exit).
posted by PorcineWithMe at 10:41 AM on June 16, 2011

paulsc has it. he's right when he says it's late in the year, too. not many people know it (and it's counterintuitive to me), but citrus is a winter fruit in Florida. I'd recommend buying a handheld juicer and buying local whole fruit where you can find it.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 12:43 PM on June 16, 2011