Mandarin oranges are smaller than oranges and less acidic. They are perfect for eating out of hand or for cooking. There are more than 200 varieties of mandarins. The most popular are the swet Satsuma, the smooth juicy Clementines, and the spicy red-orange Dancy. Mandarin cultivars–crosses with sweet oranges or grapefruits–include tart Temple tangor and…
Mandarin Oranges
Mandarin Oranges and Tangerines: Kitchen Basics
Mandarin oranges are mostly small, easy to peel, and perfect for snacking out of hand. You can choose a mandarin for a sweet treat or a mandarin for a sweet-tart treat. Mandarins can be sectioned and added to fruit, green, chicken or seafood salads. They can be juiced to flavor sorbets, marinades, and dessert sauces,…
Tangerines: Kitchen Basics
Tangerines are among the earliest harvested mandarin oranges. They are distinguished from other mandarins simply by their red-orange to red peels. They have a rough skin and sweet flesh. All tangerines are mandarins but not all mandarins are tangerines. (Other mandarins are the tangelo and the clementine.) The tangerine is named for the port city…
Mandarin Orange and Tangerine Varieties
Say mandarin orange and you are describing a large and diverse group of citrus varieties and hybrids that vary from very sweet to tart and from egg-sized small to medium grapefruit-sized large. The one thing that mandarin oranges have in common is that their peel or skin easily pulls away from their flesh and their…
Satsuma Mandarin Orange
From now until late spring, a host of mandarin orange varieties will be coming to market. The first or earliest harvested mandarin is the Satsuma mandarin which you will probably find at your farm market this week. The Satsuma is a small bright orange mandarin with a delicate, sweet flavor. It is seedless and contains…
A History of the Mandarin Orange
Mandarins oranges—in all their forms–are probably descended from wild oranges that grew in northeast India as long as 3,000 years ago. From India, mandarins made their way to China and from China to Europe, North Africa and Australia before they traveled on to other parts of the world. The first of these small, loose-skinned oranges…