For the past decade or so we have been enjoying the presence of Australian citrus amidst our local summer fruit and man-o-man, does it add a tasty blast to a fruit salad. I used to enjoy in season Valencia oranges in fruit salad, but it was a lot of messy work. Now sweet Clementine Mandarins, Minneola Tangelos and Navel Oranges can all be enjoyed in the summer thanks to our good friends down-under.
The same way that we get grapes, peaches and plums in the winter, we are able to get winter citrus in the summer. When it’s summer here its winter below the equator and when its winter here its summer there, the same goes with fall and spring and visa-versa. This makes produce items available to us in the U.S. when they are out of season here.
Australian Navel Oranges are bright in color and heavy. They’re loaded with juice and sugar.
The Clementine Mandarin is easy to peel, seedless, sweet and juicy. This makes it perfect to add to fruit salad the sections are small and easily separated without any cutting. The Minneola Tangelo is a cross between a Grapefruit and a Dancy Tangerine without doubt is identifiable by the knobby stem end. This fruit is deep orange inside and on the surface. The skin is very oily and sprays the smell of citrus blossoms into the air when peeled by hand. It has a mild tang, is very sweet and very juicy. Mostly seedless – few if any.