The Satsuma Mandarin is believed to have originated in Japan probably in the mid-sixth century A.D. It acquired its name in 1878 by the wife of Gen. Van Valkenberg, the U.S. Minister to Japan. Satsuma's have a mild sweet flavor, full of juice, virtually no seeds, pebbly in texture and the interior is a bright orange. This fruit peels and segments easily.
The fruit of all these varieties is technically a hesperidium, a kind of berry. It consists of several easily separated carpels, or sections, each containing several seeds and many juice cells, covered by a leathery exocarp, or skin, containing numerous oil glands. Orange trees are evergreens, seldom exceeding 9 m (30 ft) in height. The leaves are oval and glossy and the flowers are white and fragrant. Three essential oils are obtained from oranges: oil of orange, obtained from the rind of the fruit and used principally as a flavoring agent; oil of petigrain, obtained from the leaves and twigs and used in perfumery; and oil of neroli, obtained from the blossoms and used in flavorings and perfumes.

In the United States the principal orange-producing states are Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona. From 1991 to 1992 the yield of oranges in the United States was about 10 million metric tons. The principal crops of the western growers consist of the Valencia and the Bahia, or Washington navel orange, imported from Bahia, Brazil, in 1870, and developed in Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The navel orange is a seedless orange, with medium-thick rind, in which a second small, or abortive, orange grows. A variety of the Washington navel orange is the principal orange product of Texas.

The sour orange is cultivated to a limited extent for marmalade and to provide rootstock for less vigorous strains. About 20 percent of the total crop of oranges is sold as whole fruit; the remainder is used in preparing frozen and canned orange juice, extracts, and preserves.


Basic Nutritional Facts:
·  Low fat ·  Saturated fat-free ·  Sodium-free ·  Cholesterol-free ·  A good source of vitamin C

Detailed nutritional informatin can be found by searching the US DA Nutritional Database. Enter "Orange" (no quotes) as the keyword and select the link and report of interest.

Scientific classification:Oranges belong to the genus Citrus, of the family Rutaceae. The sweet orange is classified as Citrus sinensis; the sour, or Seville, orange as Citrus aurantium; and the mandarin orange, or tangerine, as Citrus reticulata.

Mandarin

Smoothpeeling of oranges! It reminds us of nothing but mandarin oranges,which are popularly known as 'kid-glove' oranges. It has differentnames in different regions of the world - naranjita in the Philippines, and mandarina in the American tropics (Spanish speaking people) to name a few.

 

Mandarin oranges are members of the species Citrus reticulata. Thetree height is much less than usual sweet orange tree. These orangesare more drought tolerant than sweet oranges. The tree is thorny, withbroad or slender lanceolate leaves. The fruit is oblate in shape; peelsbright orange or red orange in color and the outer skin is loose - soeasy to separate from the inner sections! However, cold weather damagesmandarins very fast. Seeds of this orange are small and remain at oneend inside the fruit.

 

Thistropical citrus fruit is supposed to have originated in Southeast Asiaor the Philippines. Now it is grown on a large scale in various partsof Japan, China, India, England, Italy and New Orleans and Florida ofthe US.

 

Mandarin oranges are of various types:

 

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  Changsa - red, sweet Mandarine orange, cultivated mainly in Texas
  
  
  


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  Le-dar - beautiful Mandarin from Australia, fruits mature a bit later than parent
  
  
  


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  Emperor - originated in Australia, pale orange in color.
  
  
  


• Oneco - slightly pear-shaped Mandarin
  
   
  
  
  


• Willow-leaf - (China Mandarin')-peel orange, smooth, glossy, thin, 10-12 segments, very juicy

 

All kinds of mandarin orangescan be eaten fresh. You can also use the sections of this citrus fruitin fruit salads, gelatins, puddings, or on cakes. Some of the mandarintypes are also canned in syrup.

Notonly the juice, but also the other sections of the fruit are veryuseful. The peel provides an essential oil that helps in flavoringcandy, gelatin and ice cream or any bakery goods that require orangeflavor. Another mandarin oil called Petitgrain also has the sameapplication. This oil is extracted from the leaves, twigs and unripefruits of the mandarin.