FoodFood InformationFruitBerriesMandarin Oranges
The Tangelo is fairly new on the block. It is a hybrid resulting fromcrossing tangerines and other citrus fruit. They are firmer and larger thantangerines. They have tight, rather than loose, skins and aren't very easilypeeled and segmented. Of the four varieties of tangelos grown in Florida,three have seeds and are shaped like a tangerine. The fourth is seedlessand shaped like an orange. Of the four varieties, one is a loser, two arefairly good, and one is out of this world.
The first variety to arrive reaches the market in October and is known asthe Early K. They are shaped like tangerines, have seeds, and arefairly juicy, but they taste like iodine. Fortunately, they have a rathershort five-to-six-week season.
The next two varieties arrive in November and are called Novas andOrlando Tangelos. They are almost identical in appearance with theEarly K. They have the same coloring, shape, juice content, and amount ofseeds. However, unlike the Early K, both the Nova and the Orlando have afairly sweet but slightly bland flavor. Both varieties arrive in marketthree to four weeks after the first arrival of the Early K.
The last tangelo to arrive, usually in mid-December, is called the Mineola.They are also called Red Tangelos, and in Florida they are calledHoney-belles. The Mineola is a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit.It is seedless, chock full of juice and flavor, and, truly one of the finestcitrus fruit around.
Mineolas are easily identified. They are larger and more colorful than theother kinds of tangelos. Instead of being flat at both ends, they are roundwith a very identifiable nipple like bump at the stem end. This is not onlya superb table orange, but, when squeezed, it renders a very colorful, tart-sweetflavored juice.
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