Clementines!

[Ellen Cherry]

Oh, my darling; Clementines, you are delicious!

For the last several years, I've been buying these tiny little tangerines around Christmastime, and as far into the new year as they remained sweet and wonderful. In the past, though, it seems like they got sour, dry, and full of seeds as February approached, so I quit buying them until the next holiday season. That was the case this year, until ...

Yesterday! My daughter begged me to buy some, saying she'd been eating them at dad's and they were DELICIOUS. Well, I know 17-year-old girls, and they ain't eating anything they don't actually love, so I bought a couple bags of them last night.

Heaven!

Do you, too, love Clementines? Anyone know why they are available and sweet here in July, when previously it was only winter? (I think they are grown in Spain. Nava?) Or was I totally wrong in that whole supposition and they're always around, growing someone lovely in the world?

[inedible knapsack]

Clementines are incredible! I always thought they were a seedless variety of tangerines, but it turns out they're a variety of mandarin orange. Interesting.

I've also experienced the gradual degredation of clementine quality starting around February, and I just assumed production was limited to a specific climate and hardiness zones in one hemisphere. Sounds like there are new producers coming on board. Bring'em on!

[Ellen Cherry]

There is a brand called Cuties that we are ambivalent about. It features a cartoon of a Cutie Clementine being literally unzipped, ready to be eaten. Said Cuties is very cute, but has a very worried expression. My 15-year-old son says he won't look at it while eating an actual Clementine. Heh.

[medstar]

I had never had clementines before a week ago because I was tired of peeling oranges; I always got the ones that would peel off in tiny pieces leading to pockmarked oranges. Finally, I picked up a package of them at Trader Joe's which listed "easy peeling" on the back. It was right, the peels came off easily and the fruit is very sweet and juicy. I will buy these regularly, now.

[typoink]

Clementines are amazing. I'm a citrus addict in general, but clementines are easily towards the time. When, as mentioned, they're good.

[PatriotGrrrl]

They're Oranges 2.0! Everything oranges should have been!

[bot3]

Originally Posted by PatriotGrrrl

They're Oranges 2.0! Everything oranges should have been!

Sorry to dis-agree but nothing but nothing is a good as a navel orange.

[Ellen Cherry]

I used to say that about Ugli fruit, Patriotgirrl! I had a run of buying absolutely delicious specimens, and then suddenly they all turned sour. Now I haven't had one in years.

[kayaker]

There are many varieties of clementines and their flavor/ease of peeling/seediness varies widely. I recently had some very good ones from Israel. Years ago I would buy a box and carry it in my vehicle, bar hopping and randomly passing them out to people. Once one person began eating theirs, others would follow. Then they'd ask the bartender, "Who was that man?"

[Colophon]

Clementines, tangerines, mandarins, satsumas. All a total lottery - you have no way of knowing in advance whether they will be juicy and sweet or dry and pithy. Sometimes they're sweet but have no actual citrus flavour, so they're just cloying.


Edit: kayaker... Mr Tangerine Man?

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by Colophon

Edit: kayaker... Mr Tangerine Man?

Hey!

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Originally Posted by Colophon

Edit: kayaker... Mr Tangerine Man?

Originally Posted by kayaker

Hey!

Play that song for me.

[PatriotGrrrl]

Originally Posted by bot3

Sorry to dis-agree but nothing but nothing is a good as a navel orange.

Oranges may taste good, but Clementines have a much better user interface.

[teela brown]

Originally Posted by bot3

Sorry to dis-agree but nothing but nothing is a good as a navel orange.

bot3, I am almost in total agreement. But when Sumos come in season (Christmas? maybe early 2013), indulge me by buying and trying them. They're a cross between Mandarin oranges and navel oranges, and are better than either fruit, IMO. They look like a freakishly large tangerine, are easy to peel, and taste like a blend between the two fruit. Bit pricey, though.

I love clementines, too, but rank them below navel oranges and sumos in yum factor.

[Parenchyma]

I have to admit that when I have a choice of brands, I always buy the Darling clementines because of the handsome crate and, well, the name. Great marketing.

[bot3]

Originally Posted by teela brown

bot3, I am almost in total agreement. But when Sumos come in season (Christmas? maybe early 2013), indulge me by buying and trying them. They're a cross between Mandarin oranges and navel oranges, and are better than either fruit, IMO. They look like a freakishly large tangerine, are easy to peel, and taste like a blend between the two fruit. Bit pricey, though.

I love clementines, too, but rank them below navel oranges and sumos in yum factor.

I'll try it. But I've never been partial to tangerines or similar. I like my orange. There use to be a variety of orange called a blood orange. When cut there were streaks of red veins in them. Very sweet but I have never seen them for many years.
http://i.imgur.com/HRyxr.jpg
When I was a kid, my Dad worked for a commission house in fruits and vegetables. He drove truck and made deliveries throughout the city to supermarkets. He use to bring home many fruits and some exotic fruits. Many are now common in today's world.

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by bot3

I'll try it. But I've never been partial to tangerines or similar. I like my orange. There use to be a variety of orange called a blood orange. When cut there were streaks of red veins in them. Very sweet but I have never seen them for many years.
http://i.imgur.com/HRyxr.jpg
.

Years ago, when my daughter was little, I got some blood oranges. I knew my daughter had never seen one, as up to that point I hadn't.

I told her I could do voodoo. I made up a story about learning the black arts in New Orleans. I got an orange from the kitchen and had her hold it. I asked her to think about a time when she was bad, and I'd cleanse her soul of the sin.

After some chanting, I sliced the orange in half, holding it up to her face and saying something about her blood entering the fruit. She screamed.

ETA: She grew up to be normal and well adjusted, nonetheless.

[bot3]

Originally Posted by kayaker

Years ago, when my daughter was little, I got some blood oranges. I knew my daughter had never seen one, as up to that point I hadn't.

I told her I could do voodoo. I made up a story about learning the black arts in New Orleans. I got an orange from the kitchen and had her hold it. I asked her to think about a time when she was bad, and I'd cleanse her soul of the sin.

After some chanting, I sliced the orange in half, holding it up to her face and saying something about her blood entering the fruit. She screamed.

ETA: She grew up to be normal and well adjusted, nonetheless.

I love it! Sounds like something I would do.

In a similar vein when our kids were between 4 and 7, I would do lots of work and projects in the basement and my wife would do lots of sewing. We had the kids convinced that I made them in the basement and my wife sewed them together.
They also are very well adjusted adults who are very community involved. However, they all seem to have a twitch when the see a sewing machine are a bit afraid to enter my basement!