During the last months of the year, store shelves are usually full of tangerines. It can be tasty, at least: if you don’t take home a dry and dull copy. How do you get the juiciest varieties off supermarket shelves, how do they store best, and is a tangerine equal to a clementine? Explains Alexander van Orshaegen of citrus brand Cibel.
Mandarins and Sinterklaas: the two have been inextricably linked for years. Supermarkets are currently full of the ‘orange apples’. “During Sinterklaas it’s usually not just about tangerines, it’s usually about clementines,” says Alexander van Orshaegen of citrus brand Cibel. “This is a specific subspecies of the mandarin family.”
What is the difference?
“Usually clementines hang on the tree a little longer than a ‘normal tangerine’. As a result, they are slightly more qualitative and often contain a green leaf on the stem. A clementine is a variety of the parent fruit, the tangerine They can be recognized by the stem at the top of the fruit, which indicates the freshness of the clementine. Also, clementines are generally a little sweeter, a little easier to peel, and also a little smaller.” By comparison, a clementine usually consists of ten wedges, while the average tangerine has fourteen.
“Our clementines come directly from Valencia, Spain,” adds van Orshaegen. “The sun and moist soil are perfect for fruit. In May, all the trees are in flower, so we can harvest from October. The clementines are then cleaned and packaged. Two days later they arrive in Belgium in refrigerated trucks.”
Supermarket tangerines are given a wax coating, so they have a longer shelf life. This way they can be kept for up to a month. Therefore, they may taste duller and drier.
“It is often different with mandarins from supermarkets,” says André Dietz of Citrus Sebastia. “Those tangerines are often harvested in one go. All of them are then given a coat of wax, so they have a longer shelf life. That way they can be kept for a month. And that’s why some varieties have a duller and drier taste.
How do you recognize the best mandarins or clementines in the supermarket?
“First, it’s important that no dark spots are visible on the clementine,” says van Orshaegen. “This usually indicates water damage or the presence of a certain bacteria. It is also essential that the peel of the mandarin is well wrapped around the fruit. The idea is that you can’t press the clementine easily. Is that so? This could indicate that the fruit has been there for a while.” Finally, the smell is also a good indicator. “If you don’t smell good, it probably has a wax coating,” Dietz says. network etiquette.”
Where do you store tangerines or clementines?
“I know it’s a natural reaction for many people, but it’s actually best not to keep tangerines in the refrigerator. It will actually make the fruit drier and make sure you can keep it for a shorter period of time. The perfect place is really just a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table. You can keep them for 1 to 2 weeks without them drying out too much,” says van Orshaegen.
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