Mandarins

While we were in Placerville, I bought a few mandarins which were for sale outside Placerville Hardware.  This hardware store had a plaque outside which stated that it is the oldest continuously operating hardware store west of the Mississippi.  It has been in business for almost 160 years.  Old hardware stores are always interesting to look at, but I've never bought mandarins at a hardware store.

Ever since we arrived in the Gold Country over a week ago, I have been seeing signs advertising mandarins.  Usually the signs were at Christmas tree farms or lots.  Evidently the weather and elevation here are just right for growing mandarins. 

My Satsuma mandarins

I know them as "mandarin oranges", which turns out not to be correct.  That name has incorrectly been given to canned mandarins, which are the kind I was most familiar with.  I am fond of mandarin oranges--as a snack or in a salad.

Canned mandarins

After doing some internet research, I discovered that they are not, in fact, oranges.  They are more like tangerines, but, as I found out, tangerines are really mandarins!

Even though tangerines are a traditional Christmas stocking item, I'm not fond of them, despite how easy they are to peel.  I don't like all the seeds. 

Mandarins, however, generally don't have seeds, are still easy to peel, and have a sweet taste.  I bought a few mandarins at the hardware store, and after I ate a couple of them, I wanted to buy some more.  We were back in Grass Valley by then, and I didn't feel like going to a Christmas tree farm to buy more mandarins, so I bought a bag of satsuma mandarins at Safeway.  They were good, too, but not quite as good as the hardware store mandarins.

It’s believed that Satsumas were first grown in Japan around 500 years ago. Their skin is slightly bumpy, loose and zips right off, thus the nickname “zipper skin.” Their seedless fruit is sweet and juicy.

Mandarin tree

Another variety of mandarins are the Clementines.
Small and seedless, Clementines are known for their red-orange skins, which are smooth, glossy and easy to remove. Their juicy fruit is sweet and tangy, with a hint of tangerine.

The internet reported that mandarins may hold secret to fighting allergies and colds according to the USDA
In a recent study by the USDA, mandarins grown in Placer County have been shown to help fight allergies and cold symptoms. The USDA tested mandarins from 10 different micro climates in Placer County and found that they contain six to seven times the amount of synephrine, a naturally occurring decongestant, than other citrus fruits.

During Chinese New Year, Mandarin oranges and tangerines are considered traditional symbols of abundance and good fortune. During the two-week celebration, they are frequently displayed as decoration and presented as gifts to friends, relatives, and business associates.

More from my internet research about mandarins:

"According to most of the world’s citrus experts, all of the loose skinned, cold-hardy citrus are mandarins, botanically known as Citrus reticulata. Properly speaking, they are not mandarin oranges, but simply mandarins. However, since many Americans’ only acquaintance with mandarins is from a can labeled “mandarin oranges”, it may be helpful to call them mandarin oranges, even if it is not technically correct. Interestingly, DNA technology has revealed that the common or sweet orange is probably a hybrid of a pummelo, a large, thick-skinned citrus, and a mandarin. So, even your orange is part mandarin!

Where did tangerine come from? Mandarins were first imported from China into the Mediterranean region through the port of Tangiers, hence the name tangerine. However, to quote one citrus expert, Lance Walheim, “The name tangerine has no botanical standing; rather it appears to have developed as a marketing term for bright colored (reddish-orange) varieties of common mandarin, such as Dancy”.

Use of the term tangerine is not consistent, as some pale yellow- orange fruit are also called tangerines. Outside the US, the term is rarely used. To put it succinctly, a mandarin is a mandarin and so is a tangerine."

A mandarin is not an orange...and that's all you need to know about mandarins, except that if you type "mandarin" into an internet search engine, you will get an article about the mandarins who are Chinese bureaucrats.  If you want to find out about the fruit, you have to type in "mandarin orange"!

Chinese mandarin bureaucrat--perhaps he likes to eat mandarins?