Sweet and delicious: choosing seedless tangerines

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Tangerines are often purchased immediately after they appear in stores and markets. But these beautiful fruits aren't always as tasty as expected. Flavor, juiciness, and seed count vary depending on the variety, country of origin, and ripeness of the citrus fruit. However, there are certain telltale signs that can help you choose good tangerines. By observing these signs, you can be confident that these citrus fruits will be ripe, juicy, and virtually seedless.

Which varieties are worth buying for their taste?

The hallmarks of good tangerines are their juiciness and seed count, which should be as few as possible. However, the definition of quality citrus fruits based on taste is broader, as some prefer tart fruit, while others prefer sweet tangerines. Therefore, it's important to know the key characteristics of different varieties to search for specific characteristics and then choose good, juicy, and delicious tangerines:

Pixie – deep orange skin, sweet, juicy, seedless flesh. Honey-like flavor.
Enkor - spotted, highly porous skin, sweet and juicy flesh.
Satsuma is a New Year's variety; the fruits are large with juicy pulp, the taste of which is sweet, rich, with a slight sourness, and there are few seeds inside.
Honey is a New Year's variety; the citrus fruits are small, the pulp is juicy and sweet with a rich honey flavor.
Philippine - yellowish-orange or greenish-yellow skin, scarlet-orange flesh, rich, sweet taste with distinct honey notes.
Dancy is a medium-sized citrus fruit with a deep orange peel with a slight scarlet tint, not thick. The flesh is also orange, with a distinct, characteristic sweet-tart flavor and an intense aroma.

Note!

In stores, the variety is often indicated, but at the market you need to ask the seller, since this information is rarely on the price tag.

From which country do they bring delicious tangerines?

It's also important to consider the location where the citrus fruits were grown and from where they were brought for sale. This criterion, along with the variety, also influences the taste. This is because climate conditions in a given country can slightly alter the aroma and other characteristics of citrus fruits. The flavor characteristics of tangerines, depending on the country where they were grown, are as follows:

Spain – the peel is large-pored, the pulp is sweet but not cloying, the citrus fruits are large.
Abkhazia – fruits grown in this country are environmentally friendly, as they don't require chemical treatment to survive transportation. These tangerines have a sweet flavor with a slight but distinct tartness, and they contain few seeds.
Morocco - thin skinned, yellowish-orange, sweet flesh, virtually seedless.
Türkiye – the skin is pale orange, the flesh is extremely juicy, sweet and sour, and there are practically no seeds.
Israel – the skin is difficult to peel, but the flesh is juicy and sweet, with a small number of seeds – no more than 1 in each slice.

The countries listed above aren't the only ones importing mandarins; others do, too. However, they're less common, as the volumes supplied are small. However, their citrus fruits don't differ significantly, as these countries are located near the main suppliers of the fruit. Therefore, it's safe to say that mandarins imported from neighboring countries like Turkey, China, or Abkhazia will be sour. If the fruit is imported from countries located near Israel, Spain, or Morocco, it will be sweet.

Signs of good, juicy tangerines

Mandarins are generally classified by taste, or more precisely, whether they are sour or sweet. Signs of ripeness are essentially independent of variety and are distinguished only by the appearance of the peel and other characteristics. The table lists the key characteristics of high-quality ripe fruits, which have a rich flavor and virtually seedless flesh.

Sign	Sweet and sour taste	Sweet taste
Peel color	pale orange or yellowish, may have a greenish tint	A distinct bright orange, sometimes with scarlet, without streaks or other greenish markings
Weight	Slightly smaller than similar sized ones but with bright skin	A juicy and sweet fruit is always slightly heavier than a sour one.
Parameters	The shape is slightly flattened, the citrus fruits are small	Large, round fruits with an elongated top
Peel adherence	It fits tightly around the slices and can be separated with difficulty.	The peel can be easily removed

Note!

Even if the fruit looks good, but there is even a small moldy area on it, such a citrus fruit cannot be purchased, as it is completely spoiled.

Selection criteria

One of the fundamental criteria for selecting mandarins, which can be used to determine their sweetness, is the peel. If the peel separates easily from the inside of the citrus, is firm, juicy, and evenly colored, then the fruit is ripe. To avoid making mistakes when selecting, it is recommended to perform all necessary checks, including manual ones. The main ones are as follows:

When the peel of a ripe citrus fruit is squeezed slightly, clear juice should squirt out in thin streams from the pores.
Spots, noticeable unevenness and roughness (excluding varietal characteristics) indicate non-compliance with storage standards.
Traces of mold and rot indicate that the fruit is spoiled and poses a health hazard.
If the skin has already dried out and lost its elasticity, then there is almost no juice in such fruits - they may be sweet, but dry.

How to keep it fresh

Citrus fruits are the kind you can buy in advance. However, if you store ripe, juicy citrus fruits in a room with a normal, normal temperature (20-25ºC), they will last for 1 to 1.5 weeks. If you place them near heating appliances (heaters or radiators), their shelf life will be shorter—2-3 days. To keep tangerines fresh longer, be sure to ensure the following conditions: