http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/taste/shopping/stories/DN-nf_inseason_1202gd.ART.State.Edition1.4b98a6e.html

In Season: It's time for tangerines of all types at Dallas-area farmers markets

12:00 AM CST on Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Kim Pierce

Americans lump several citrus varieties under the name tangerine. Their season is gearing up as part of citrus' move to the fore. Sunkist, a citrus-growers' cooperative, notes that there are three broad categories of the orange-colored, loose-skinned fruit: tangerines, mandarins and tangelos.

Here's how the cooperative describes some of the different tangerines you will see:

Tangerines, first available around Thanksgiving, are sometimes sold with stems attached. Dancy and Fairchild are common varieties; both have some seeds.

Mandarins, with their sweet, complex flavor, include satsumas and Clementines.

Tangelos are a sweet-tart cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine. The Minneola is the most distinctive: It's the one with a knoblike formation on one end. Minneolas have few seeds.

Use the grated orange part of the tangerine skin to add bright citrus flavor to other foods, from salads to green beans, pork tenderloin to coleslaw.

Kim Pierce