20 hours ago, kayb said:Speaking of which, what's the difference in a Mandarin orange and a clementine? Other than the fact one was a lot more expensive than the other at the grocery today? And are either of them the same as tangerines, which is what we always called them when I was a kid?
I grew up calling them tangerines also. We had a pet satsuma tree due to a nursery mistake when Dad planted his grove. We always called it a tangerine tree, but when I was old enough to understand Dad said it was really a satsuma mandarin orange.
Satsumas and clementines are two varieties of mandarin orange. There are more, and of course there are hybrids. I think the word "tangerine" has fallen out of favor; at least, UCR (University of California, Riverside) doesn't seem to recognize it. Harold McGee (On Food and Cooking, 2004 edition, p.375) wrote that the satsuma, the Japanese variety, appeared by the 16th century, and the "Mediterranean types" that appeared by the 19th century were collectively called tangerines for Tangiers, Morocco. The current thinking is that the mandarin orange is one of three specific citrus fruits (the other two being the citron and the pummelo) from which all others have sprung.
For more specific information, the UC Riverside Citrus Variety Collection web site has some good references. This page is specifically about mandarin varieties.
