Blood oranges are indeed great, and no doubt fresh squeezed blood oranges are wonderful.
But I have (and still occasionally) live in Italy and have been very frustrated and annoyed with Italian OJ. I have to vehemently disagree with the notion that any kind of Italian OJ, at least as sold in grocery stores in Italy, is even remotely as good as the US kind. Italian OJ is high-temperature pasteurized, depulpified, put into tetrapak cartons, and radiated. It tastes like a mixture of the orange juice you get in plastic bottles in US vending machines, plus Tang. The blood orange version strongly brings to mind Minute Maid Fruit Punch. And it's expensive!
The US OJ industry makes stuff which is far from fresh-squeezed, but it is absolutely light years ahead of European variations in taste, and I think the reason is simple: Americans drink a ton of it. It is one of the very few foods in the US which Europe simply cannot approach.
But I have (and still occasionally) live in Italy and have been very frustrated and annoyed with Italian OJ. I have to vehemently disagree with the notion that any kind of Italian OJ, at least as sold in grocery stores in Italy, is even remotely as good as the US kind. Italian OJ is high-temperature pasteurized, depulpified, put into tetrapak cartons, and radiated. It tastes like a mixture of the orange juice you get in plastic bottles in US vending machines, plus Tang. The blood orange version strongly brings to mind Minute Maid Fruit Punch. And it's expensive!
The US OJ industry makes stuff which is far from fresh-squeezed, but it is absolutely light years ahead of European variations in taste, and I think the reason is simple: Americans drink a ton of it. It is one of the very few foods in the US which Europe simply cannot approach.