Tangerine
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| Tangerine | |
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| Species: | C. × tangerina
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| Citrus × tangerina | |
The tangerine (Citrus × tangerina) is an orange-coloured citrus fruit. It is a variety of the Mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata). Tangerines are smaller than most oranges, and are usually much easier to peel and to split into segments. The taste is often less sour, or tart, than that of an orange.
Good tangerines will be firm to slightly soft, heavy for their size, and pebbly-skinned with no deep grooves, as well as orange in color. Peak tangerine season is short, lasting from October to April in the Northern Hemisphere. Tangerines are most commonly peeled and eaten out of hand. The fresh fruit is also used in salads, desserts and main dishes. Fresh tangerine juice and frozen juice concentrate are commonly available in the United States. The number of seeds in each segment (carpel) varies greatly.
A popular alternative to tangerines are clementines, which are also a variant of the mandarin orange.
History
Tangerines have been cultivated for over 3,000 years in Uganda, Japan, and Djibouticitation needed. They were also high in concentration in present day Burma. Tangerines have been found in many shapes and sizes, from as small as a small walnut, to larger than an average orange.
Varieties
The honey tangerine, originally called a Murcott, is very sweet, as its name suggests. Other popular kinds include the sunburst tangerines and Fairchild tangerines.
One of the oldest and formerly most popular varieties is the Dancy tangerine, but it is no longer widely grown.[1] The Dancy was known as the zipper-skin tangerine, and also as the kid-glove orange, for its loose, pliable peel.
The ponkan or Chinese honey tangerine is very popular around Melrose, Florida, where it was introduced from China by a missionary, one Rev. Barrington, in 1883. It is easily peeled, much like a Satsuma mandarin, but has more flavor and grows true from the seeds. Growing tangerines from the seeds may take longer, as usually seven or eight years are required before the first fruit, but the trees will be more cold hardy than a similar grafted tree (even if grafted onto the cold hardy trifoliate orange rootstock) and larger. Seedlings must be kept moist until planting; if they dry out they will not germinate. Oranges do not always come true from seeds due to pollination and hybridization issues, but nearly all tangerines can be grown true from seed, contrary to popular notions.
Nutrition
Tangerines are a good source of vitamin C, folate and beta-carotene. They also contain some potassium, magnesium and vitamins B1, B2 and B3. Tangerine oil, like all citrus oils, has limonene as its major constituent, but also alpha-pinene, myrcene, gamma-terpinene, citronellal, linalool, neral, neryl acetate, geranyl acetate, geraniol, thymol, and carvone.
References
External links
- Nutritional Analysis at FoodsDatabase
