You Are My Sunshine

Laura Avery
Mirror contributing writer

   The state of California produces a prodigious amount of fruit, in both volume and variety. Florida oranges are more familiar to many consumers, however, since Florida has been aggressively promoting itself as the “Sunshine State” since the 1920s, when it enticed untold thousands of northerners into investing in orange groves in communities with names like “Frost Proof” — my grandfather’s best friend being one of them. California has recently begun a self-promotion campaign of its own to encourage consumers to “buy California.” It requires a hefty buy-in, to the tune of $50,000, for the privilege of using the campaign’s official “Taste the Sunshine” logo on stickers and other point-of-purchase promotional materials. Since only large commodity groups can afford the up front cost, California’s “Taste the Sunshine” displays will be relegated to the glossy piles of produce fighting for commercial retail space at grocery stores with imports from Florida, Mexico, South America, Holland, New Zealand and China. At least consumers will be able to identify which produce is California grown and to “buy California” if they so choose.
   Our own California citrus growers have been producing little rays of sunshine and bringing them to farmers’ markets for years. Citrus is a year-round crop in California, and due to the state’s various climactic regions, good citrus fruit is always available. When a devastating frost ruined the navel orange crop in Tulare County years ago, Riverside and San Diego county oranges were still available. Seasons and varieties of citrus fruit change so constantly and imperceptibly that it may be helpful to have a citrus guide at your fingertips.
   Starting now, we are delighted to have scrumptious Clementine mandarins in the markets. “Clemmies,” as they are affectionately called by their legions of loyal fans, are one of the best –tasting of all the mandarin/tangerine varieties. The names “mandarin orange” and “tangerine” are used interchangeably and refer in general to the desirable characteristics of these types of citrus fruit – small size, ease of peeling, bright flavor and generally seedless. The first mandarin on the market is the Satsuma, which comes into season in December and lasts through March. This is a very popular and dependable fruit, fairly large for a mandarin, very easy to peel and this year it had exceptionally good flavor. Numerous mandarin types follow beginning in January, including the Algerian, an old style Clementine from the 50’s, and the sweet and tasty Lee. Other better-known varieties that come out early are the Page, which is thin skinned and therefore harder to peel but which has a meltingly sweet flavor, and the Dancy, an old variety that comes out of Ojai in Ventura County ahead of De Luz down in San Diego County and is soft and easy to peel. Also coming out in January is the Freemont, a Clementine hybrid with “thin” seeds that is not as easy to section. Later in February comes the flatter shaped honey tangerine, which is very soft and super sweet but full of seeds.
   Newer varieties, including some that are being developed by the University of California and test grown by farmers are the Perfection, which is super sweet and seedless but harder to peel; the Mercott (of Moroccan origin); a very sweet Ellendale and a Delight, which was developed and patented by Tom Mulholland. Late season mandarin/tangerines (beginning in mid-March) include the seedless Pixie, two University releases called Gold Nugget (which has a high oil content in the skin) and Tom’s Terrific, the thin-skinned, easily sectioned and intensely flavored Encore and the latest varieties, Primavera and Gold Nugget, which can last ‘til May. According to Tony Thatcher of Friends Ranch in Ojai, tangerines are extremely susceptible to micro-climatic conditions, so different varieties fare differently depending on which part of his ranch they are planted. Constant experimentation, observation and taste testing yield invaluable information to both growers and University citrus breeders as to the nature and personality of the highly prized mandarins.
   The oranges we seemingly take for granted have specific growing seasons. Seedless navels generally sell between January and mid-May and the juicy Valencias can begin in April but are considered the “summer orange” and usually sell between June and December. Oranges, like most citrus fruit, store well on trees, so it is not unusual in a dry year like this one to have ripe Valencias still hanging on the trees in April while the new crop is already being harvested. Pink-fleshed Cara Cara oranges are in season from February through April, and a delightful pommelo/mandarin cross called a “cocktail grapefruit” is available from late December through February. Pommelos are the huge grapefruit-type fruits used as gifts for the Chinese New Year and not terribly popular among farmers, because they take up so much space in the orchard, or customers, who generally don’t know what to make of them. Most farmers grow the Chandler variety, which has yellow flesh, and is in season from January through March.
   Popular grapefruit varieties are the Oro Blanco, a sugar-sweet white, in season from January through June, and the pink fleshed Star Ruby which is in from mid-April through November. Eureka lemons, the classic pointy ended thick-skinned sour ones, are available from February through August; Meyer lemons, which are large, round, slightly orange in color and most often used for cooking, are in from late November through March; Persian or “sweet” lemons which have no acidity at all to the point of blandness come in from Thanksgiving through May. Seedless, juicy Bearss Limes and small, round yellow, seeded Mexican or Key Limes are late summer through winter fruits.
   January through May is the season for Morro “Blood” Oranges which have just a hint of red in the skin and brilliantly berry-colored flesh. Minneola Tangelos, a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit, are bright orange, juicy and deeply flavorful with a distinctive bump on top. They peel easily like a tangerine, make delicious juice, and are in season from early March through late May.
   All of the fruits noted above are grown by Regier Farms, Polito Farms, Friends Ranch, Garcia Organic Farm, Nicholas Farm and Behneman-Reed Ranch. Without farmers like them we wouldn’t be getting our weekly dose of California sunshine – so who needs stickers?