http://www.news-press.com/article/20091202/ENT07/912020348/1013/LIFESTYLES/Tangerine-tango

Tangerine tango
Beautiful, delicious winter fruit is happy to dance in delightful and surprising culinary combinations

by drew sterwald • dsterwald@news-press.com • December 2, 2009

A very long time ago, before iPods and Xboxes, well-behaved children found golden fruit in the toes of their Christmas stockings.

That precious present might have been a tangerine, a variety of Mandarin orange that comes to fruition just in time for the holidays. In December, the Sunburst variety is a hot seller.

"We call that our Christmas tangerine," Dave Nicely of Sun Harvest Citrus in south Fort Myers said. "It's our prettiest tangerine. It has a deep, dark red-orange color. It looks really nice in a gift box."

Whether you buy them to eat yourself or give as gifts, there's something about tangerines that sets them apart from other oranges and citrus. It's more than just looking pretty and being easier to peel.

"As opposed to an orange, it has a round flavor that gets all parts of your tongue," said Robert Parks, chef-owner of Sanibel's Twilight Cafe. "It can pair with something like an onion for a sweet and sour, almost Mediterranean feel."

Tangerine plays a starring role in one of Twilight's signature dishes: Grilled scallops with tangerine linguine. The fruity reddish-orange noodles make a dramatic presentation as well as a unique taste sensation.

"It's such a clean refreshing taste," Parks said. "Pastas usually are so heavy in general. Tangerine linguine is a refreshing pasta dish."

When he returned to the island last year after two years on the mainland, Parks didn't put the pasta dish on his new menu. Patrons were not pleased.

"I got roundly criticized," he said. "I just brought it back in October."

Common kinds

Most people aren't going to turn tangerines into noodles at home. They buy tangerines to eat out of hand or squeeze for juice.

But tangerines also can be tossed in salads, spritzed into sauces for seafood or meat and incorporated in desserts from sorbet to tea cake.

Tangerines were first cultivated in China more than 3,000 years ago and didn't reach Europe or the United States until the 1800s.

The most common Florida varieties, according to the Department of Citrus:

- Fallglo: The earliest variety, starting in October, has a mild, sweet flavor.

- Sunburst: Has a bright, deep orange color. In season October through December.

- Dancy: Sometimes called the "zipperskin fruit" because they are so easy to peel and section apart. In season December and January.

- Honey or Murcott: The juicy red interior has a sweet, honey flavor and few seeds. In season January through April.

Sun Harvest Citrus' season starts with Sunburst, its most popular tangerine in December. The company also grows Honey tangerines and other citrus at groves in and around Vero Beach and Fort Pierce on the east coast.

"We wait until the Sunburst is at its best flavor, which is usually around the first week of December," said Nicely, the company's sales and marketing director. "Citrus doesn't ripen once you pick it. If you leave it on the tree a week or two longer it will only get sweeter."

Iffy season

Sun Harvest prices are the same as last year, Nicely said, $5.29 for a five-pound bag, $9.99 a quarter-bushel or $1.09 a pound for loose fruit. Shipping is extra.

That's despite what is shaping up as an iffy season for tangerines and other citrus.

In October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast a 27 percent increase in the tangerine harvest this season. But by mid-November, ThePacker.com reported that fruit buyers should expect fewer fruit. The newsletter for Florida growers, packers, shippers and retailers stated crops are showing signs of damage from freezing temperatures late last winter when trees were flowering.

Bob and Anna Waite have seen the effects firsthand at their Sunrise Citrus grove in Buckingham. They farm 40 acres of their own and manage four other small groves, picking tangerines, oranges, grapefruit, carambola, lychees, avocados and more.

"It's the cold weather last winter and the lack of rain two years in a row," Bob Waite said.

Since they bought their land in 1983 and turned it into a farm, they've lost half of an annual crop to hurricanes, survived the threat of citrus canker and seen acres and acres of Southwest Florida farmland swallowed by development.

Despite the challenges, the couple perseveres. They met 30-plus years ago at Shangri-La, the Bonita Springs resort and organic gardens, and opened their first fruit stand together in 1978.

Now they sell their fruit and other produce at Fleamasters in Fort Myers and The Shell Factory in North Fort Myers and at farmers markets in downtown Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, and Bonita Springs. They grow four varieties of tangerines, which sell for about $3 for a five-pound bag.

"We built on the concepts learned at Shangri-La," Waite said. "Fresh fruit and vegetables are the wholesome ticket to long life. We carry on the tradition."


Sunrise Citrus in Buckingham grows Fallglo tangerines. (Andrew West/news-press.com)


These natives of China are often eaten out of hand or juiced. (ANDREW WEST/The News-Press)

There are some nice citrus recipes at the article link above - Alan