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Whole Foods, Houston, 2004. I was nosing around the produce section looking for some mangos when I happened upon a sample tray topped with what appeared to be orange slices. But these were deep purple, like something Prince might have worn circa 1984. Never one to turn my nose up at free food, I grabbed a slice. Then I took another.

I ended up going home that day with a bag full of blood oranges.

I have a couple of them in my refrigerator right now. I may have one in my desk drawer.

This is the season for them, and since they're available only until early May, I stock up in the spring.

The sweet, earthy, berrylike flavor pairs well with salads, seafood and martinis.

And then, of course, there's the color.

On the outside, the thick-skinned orb looks much like a navel orange, except with a little more blush and a little less gloss. But inside, the flesh can range in color from pink lemonade to amethyst.

"A lot of people want to see that color. That color is very intense," says Liberty Oak chef Andre Zeigler, who makes sauces and dressings with blood orange puree. "People see it and they want to know what it is, they want to taste it."

Until about a decade ago, the blood orange was something of a rarity at grocery stores.

But as the market for once exotic fruits such as pomegranates, guavas and papayas grew, the blood orange also carved out a niche for itself in the produce aisle.

The oranges get their distinctive color from anthocyanin, the same pigment that gives cherries, raspberries and red apples their hue. They come in three main varieties -- Tarocco, Sanguinello and Moro, which is the most common one in the United States.

The fruit traces its origins to the Mediterranean region and, according to a Fruit Gardener magazine article by citrus scientist David Karp, is believed to have been brought to the United States in the 1870s where it became a popular Easter treat (the early Malta variety had an egg shape).

The fruit's fortunes, Karp wrote, blossomed in the 1980s as Americans who had ventured overseas developed a palate for it.

Most domestic blood orange production is concentrated in California's San Joaquin Valley. Karp estimates about 600 acres worth of fruit are grown each year in the United States.

In contrast, 660,000 acres were devoted to overall U.S. orange production in 2008.

The season begins as early as Thanksgiving and peaks in January and February.

"They provide color to dishes in the winter," says Leigh Hesling, executive chef at Green Valley Grill in Greensboro. "Between blood oranges and pomegranates, there's not a lot of other seasonally growing items that aren't brown or orange like squash."

The blood orange, with its balance of tart and sweet, lends itself well to both savory and dessert dishes.

Hesling says his pan-seared scallops with a blood orange beurre blanc is the most popular dish on the menu right now, but he has also made a blood orange sorbet and a blood orange jam.

Myself, I haven't had them in too many dishes, though I did order a Bloody Navel -- a ruby red concoction of Absolut Mandarin, Cointreau (a triple sec liqueur), orange juice and blood orange puree -- at Liberty Oak the other night. Strictly for research purposes, of course.

Mainly, I just like them fresh, as a midday treat.

Valencias do well to provide me with my daily dose of vitamin C.

But seeing a purple orange sitting on my desk, in the moments before I dig into it, just adds a little whimsy to my gray, newspaper-stacked cubicle every now and then in the spring.

Contact Robert C. Lopez at (336) 691-5091 or robert.lopez@news-record.com

GREEN BEANS WITH BLOOD ORANGE GINGER SAUCE

3 cups green beans, trimmed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon grated ginger

Juice from 2 blood oranges (about ¹⁄₃ cup)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Place green beans in casserole dish. Cover with an inch of water.

Put lid on dish and microwave on high until beans are crisp and tender, about 4 to 6 minutes.

Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute.

Add beans to skillet and toss.

Pour in blood orange juice and soy sauce. Let simmer for 3 minutes.

Add sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper.

Toss well.

Serves 8.

RED CARPET MARTINI

Rim martini glass with sugar

1½ ounce vodka

3 ounces cranberry juice

1 ounce blood orange juice

Mix together

Sources: Finlandia Vodka, "At Home Entertaining" by Jorj Morgan, Eating throughsf.blogspot.com