Four Citrus Fruits Making Winter Sweeter

I wasn’t a huge fan of citrus growing up. I was (and still am) the kid that peels every last bit of white stringy pith from the edge of my orange or clementine sections. Growing up in Pennsylvania (where no citrus grows) we had juicy Florida citrus like oranges, clementines, and dark orange, seedy tangerines from the grocery store, but I don’t remember eating any other citrus. When I began working at The FruitGuys it was like opening up a treasure trove of unique citrus fruits.?

As I tried satsumas, blood oranges, Cara Caras, and many mandarins, I found I enjoy citrus much more than I once thought. I shared my love for the Cara Cara the other week, so this week I thought I’d tell you about a few of my other favorite varieties and the farms that grow them.

Tahoe Gold Mandarins: Tahoe Golds tend to be extremely juicy and sweet. According to UC Riverside, they come in between 13.5% and 15.5% brix. Brix is a measurement of the sugar in a piece of fruit — the higher the brix, the sweeter the fruit. For comparison, oranges have an average brix of 8–14. Tahoe Golds are usually available mid-January to mid-February. The only downside of these juicy fruits is that they are often too delicate to ship. We source our Tahoe Golds from Friend’s Ranch in Ojai, CA, and add them to our fruit boxes whenever they’re sturdy enough.?

Kishu Mandarins: These tiny nuggets of deliciousness are a less common mandarin variety. They are smaller than golf balls, easy to peel, and sweet to eat. I can easily eat a handful of Kishus back-to-back. Unfortunately, they have a very short season (usually just January) and because not many farmers grow them, not many are available. Bernard Ranch in Riverside, CA, is one of our favorite sources of Kishu mandarins.?

Gold Nugget Mandarins: Our California produce buyers, Rebecca and Miguel, absolutely love Gold Nuggets, and they’re one of my favorites, too. Gold Nuggets are easy to peel, seedless, super sweet, and low-acid. Because of their wrinkly skin, you might think that they’re overripe at first glance —? but that’s just how these beauties grow. Gold Nuggets appear in February and can remain available all the way through June. We source them from a couple of different farms, including Suntreat in Dinuba, CA, which collects citrus from 150 grower families.?

Ojai Pixie Tangerines: These delicious fruits are coming soon! They are small, seedless, easy to peel, and sweet (my favorite citrus traits). Pixies are a cross between a King Mandarin and a Dancy Tangerine and are grown in southern California’s beautiful Ojai Valley. We get our Pixies directly from Ojai Pixie Packers, which packs Pixies from 52 family farmers. We try to share Pixies with our customers for as long as they are in season, which can sometimes stretch into June if we’re lucky.?

When Gold Nuggets and Ojai Pixies end it's truly the close of the citrus season. I’m always a bit sad to say goodbye to my favorite items, but there is also something exciting about the anticipation of the next citrus wave later in the year. Luckily, we still have several months of deliciousness to enjoy before we have to say farewell to sweet citrus fruits.??

Do you have a favorite citrus fruit that you look forward to each year? Share a photo on Instagram and tag @fruitguys. We’ll share your post on our story to spread the citrus love.

In gratitude,

-Erin Mittelstaedt

CEO, The FruitGuys