ORANGE CRUSH

FORGIVE the off-center photo. Apparently this was the best position I could get aboard a crowded Nostalgia Train featuring near-century-old cars the MTA rolls out periodically, most often in June, September and December. I haven’t had an orange soda in years, although I’m a dedicated Diet Coke drinker (please, spare me the “don’t drink soda” advice as I am still alive despite having one per day since the 1970s, and all such advice comments won’t get through my screen).

Orange Crush is probably the most popular orange soda in the USA, though in NYC I remember Hoffman as my prime source back when I drank sugary soda as a kid. The company originated in 1916 as Ward’s Orange Crush and the Crush brand has also been appended to dozens of other flavors, though most people know the brand from Orange Crush. Clayton J. Howel, president and founder of the Orange Crush Company, partnered with Neil C. Ward, who originated the recipe that at first included orange pulp, which has long since disappeared. The Crush company has been owned by Proctor and Gamble, Schweppes and currently, by Dr. Pepper (one of the sodas whose taste I actively dislike).

Originally, I thought the name “crush” came from the sound made by clinking ice cubes in a glass full of the stuff but it actually refers to crushing oranges and other fruits to acquire the pulp. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Denver Broncos’ “Orange Crush” defense carried the team, which wore orange home jerseys, to 6 Super Bowl appearances and two titles.

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4/18/2023