This simple-yet-silly trick to finding a sweet orange has shoppers rethinking how they pick fruit: “News you can use”
A viral video about grocery shopping has convinced millions that the secret to picking a sweet orange is hiding in plain sight — at the fruit’s stem end.
TikTok creator Avelyn, @its.avelyn, went viral after filming herself in the produce aisle explaining how she chooses navel oranges. Instead of focusing on color alone, Avelyn flips each orange over to examine the small circular mark at the bottom, formally known as the blossom end.
“You don't want, like, a crevice, you know, like a big, wide… butthole cavity,” she said, holding up the stem end of an orange with a visible opening.
“You want… a little tight butthole like that. I feel like this one's sweet, right?” Avelyn showed the mostly closed stem end of an orange. She selected another and declared, “This one is closed. This is a sweet orange.”
@its.avelyn I bought orange number 4012 and now I need to know if I messed up! #navelorange #oranges #citrusseason ♬ original sound - Avelyn
Avelyn thanked “Navel orange girl” in her clip about selecting the perfect orange butthole. She said the correlation between butthole size and sweetness was discovered by TikTok creator Paige, @rawr_its_paige, who researched the topic and shared her findings after eating “like, a bajillion navel oranges.” Avelyn’s clip from Jan. 6, 2026, quickly racked up 1.2 million views.
@rawr_its_paige How to pick the perfect navel orange. #tism #neurodivergent #neurospicy #safefood #orange #tismtrait #nightroutine #favoritefood #foodtok #navelorange #howto #Tatcha ♬ 夏とブランチ (Acoustic) - ruuka
She is dedicated to clip to @rawr_its_paige, aka Navel orange girl. “Um, I've never thought about a Navel orange’s butthole, but here we are because I like them sweet,” she said, filming from the produce aisle in a grocery store. She displayed oranges with a variety of butthole (stem end) sizes ranging from “wide crevices” or “cavities,” to “little tight” and closed buttholes.
Avelyn said according to Navel orange girl’s research, “the smaller the butthole, the sweeter the orange… That's what I learned from the Navel orange girl. And I just want to say thank you, girl.”
Thank you, Navel orange girl
In her original reporting, Paige refers to the orange’s butthole demurely: “the orange’s booty-hole.”
“Here's how to pick the perfect navel orange,” she said, “You might be thinking it's all about the color. Nay, I think that is the third most important orange aspect to look at.” Paige goes on to explain three key factors that determine navel orange sweetness. “The first, the booty hole. The second, the weight. The third, the color.”
Navel orange eaters in the comments are grateful for the useful tip and seeking out Paige's original video for more information.
Commenters shared images from their grocery hauls for expert approval. "How did I do?" asked @dltcanadian who posted a picture of two tight orange buttholes. Paige replied, "FABULOUS."
@dltcanadian/TikTok
“This is why I’m on TT. News you can use.”
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