

The Mediterranean and King Mandarins are of limited commercial importance, but the other three contain all the varieties that we see in our retail stores. Mandarins are broadly categorised as: Satsumas, Mediterranean Mandarins, King Mandarins, Common Mandarins, and Tangors / Tangelos. The broad similarities between these types are: a small to medium size fruit, rind that peels away quite easily, sweetness, a distinctive flavour, and popularity! Mandarin is the name given to all types of easy-peeler citrus fruit.Īlthough the name is sometimes used on retail packaging, mandarin is actually the collective name for all easy-peeler type citrus fruit, which are thought to have originated in north-east India or south-west China. To help understand these fruit a little better, below are some one-liners on the main groups, followed by a little more detail: There is quite a list, which has largely developed to help retailers differentiate a complex group of similar fruit for consumers. It is confusing to browse the citrus aisle in a retail store for easy-peelers because of the plethora of names and descriptions used: Satsumas, Clementines, Tangerines, Mandarins, etc. What are Clementines, Mandarins, Satsumas and Tangerines?
