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kvetchlambkin

Another mystery citrus!

8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

Hi everyone! My parents have been buying a new type of citrus and they're always hounding me to eat one because I've been sick lately. I finally got a good look at it when it was sliced open and wanted to share it with everyone here. I have no clue what kind of citrus it is but it looked so interesting and pretty that maybe one of you may know what it is.

They say it is a citrus from Japan and that it cost quite a lot, about a dollar per fruit. Even so they're obsessed with it. The rind, membrane, and the white fluffy stuff peels just like a grapefruit. The pulp is very much like a grapefruit too! It's not sour at all, slightly sweet with a very light flavor. The one I ate actually had very little citrus flavor and not that sweet but I noticed all the very dark green ones got eaten first. I can't tell if the darker green or lighter green is ripened more properly so maybe it was just the one I picked that was bland. The green is so gorgeous though and it has a beautiful shape. I'm willing to grow it just for its beauty even if it doesn't taste very strong. It's very seedy so I plucked out the round fat seeds that looked polyembryonic to plant. If anyone would like some seeds I'd be willing to share some :)

On another note, I also ate a delicious navel orange today. It wasn't the usual monster sized ones I see in the supermarkets. The navel I ate was a bit larger than a tennis ball and very deep orange. The flavor was amazing! Slight tang but also very sweet and juicy. I don't think I've found seeds in navel oranges before so I was bummed that I probably won't get to plant one from such a delicious navel orange. But towards the last few slices there was one seed!! And it's a very round chubby seed too!

I started it and the green citrus seeds on my sprouting process tonight (paper towel ziplock method). That method always works for me lol. The seed was such a miraculous find that I needed to share the story with citrus lovers that would understand the joy of finding a single possible polyembryonic seed! I'm most excited to grow this seed than all other citrus right now! Except a Shiranui if I ever get my hands on one.

If anyone has any idea about the identity green citrus though, it would be interesting to hear more about it!

Comments (15)

  • 8 years ago

    That seems to be a good guess but they say the average size is about 2 inches wide and tall but the green citrus are definitely larger than that. Measured 3 inches wide and tall. They're the size of the smaller pink blushed grapefruits that are sometimes sold in stores. The skin is also very smooth and glossy and each end of the citrus doesn't protrude.

    Reminds me of a tight skinned tangerine or an oblong grapefruit/pommelo.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Maybe an Oroblanco or Sweetie? Was it purchased? Where?

  • 8 years ago

    I'll have to ask them and let you know later. Most likely a generic Asian market but definitely purchased

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    If I had to guess it looks like a pomelo, but weird since I've never come across that type of pomelo variety in any supermarket in the U.S. (including Asian markets). They're almost always the big red Chandler variety, although once I did find a white-fleshed variety which I believed to be Reinking, the shape was smaller and more flattened.

  • 8 years ago

    I’ve heard oroblanco can be eaten green although mine were not good green. Maybe in your climate? It certainly could be an oroblanco by the looks of it and flavor description...?

  • 8 years ago

    Dave I've asked them and it was purchased at an Asian market. Apparently only one of the markets they got it from tasted really sweet and flavorful. The one I ate must've came from a different store because mine wasn't very flavorful but it wasn't bitter either. It's probably hard to tell when it is properly ripe lol!

    Laura I've looked up pomelo hybrids and green pomelos with light/yellow flesh do seem to exist! It's very likely a pomelo hybrid, probably more pomelo in its nature.

    Parker Turtle I think pomelos just suffer from less popularity compared to grapefruit so you don't see many varieties in most stores except in the Asian ones. I've seen the enormous yellow pomelos in Asian markets and the yellow skinned grapefruit looking types but these green ones are probably a recent introduction. I feel like I've been seeing more citrus varieties in the markets this year though so maybe they're just expanding and testing out the response to different citrus selection these days!

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Could it maybe be a Jaffa Sweetie? even though that variety is not often found in the U.S.

    (like Oroblanco, it is a grapefruit-pomelo hybrid, but the exterior rind often doesn't yellow all the way and remains green)

  • 8 years ago

    So they bought more of this citrus and there's finally sticker labels on them!

    I looked online about it and Trader Joes also carries them. Apparently it's an unofficial variety that wasn't released but managed to escape into the industry. It was probably dubbed a cocktail grapefruit by those selling the tree but it's a mandarin and pomelo hybrid. I feel relieved this mystery is solved

  • 8 years ago

    PLU code 4296 is grapefruit. The sticker further identifies it as "cocktail"; and that sticker is usually applied by the grower or the packer; so I guess you have a cocktail grapefruit, which a pretty good one. I would still choose Oroblanco over it.

  • 8 years ago

    Yeah I tried looking online about the grower or packer. It seems it's just the packing company so I can't get any further information about the fruit. It has no bitterness to it so it's possible it's not actually a grapefruit but a pomelo crossed with a different citrus. I'll take your word for it about the Oroblanco though :)

  • 8 years ago

    Cocktail Grapefruit is another name for a Mandelo.

    To quote from Wikipedia:

    The mandelo was developed in the 1950s at the UC Citrus Experiment Station, but then escaped into public orchards.[1][3] It is a white-fleshed tri-specific citrus hybrid between a 'Frua' hybrid mandarin ('Dancy' mandarin × 'King tangor')[4] and a Siamese Sweet pommelo.[3] This makes it 1/4 King tangor, 1/4 Dancy tangerine, and 1/2 Siamese Sweet Pommelo.[3][5] It is named for its ancestors, mandarin and pommelo.

    Further details see:

    Wiki Mandelo

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked citrange2
  • 8 years ago

    The packer is the only one who would know from what grower or what grove the fruit originated; there is a special code put on each box for that; and the information is not readily available to the public


    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked johnmerr
  • 8 years ago

    Oh wow thanks for the tip John! Maybe I'll get to see them in their box some time if I go when they're stocking heheh

    Thanks citrange! I read the same thing on the UCR site about the fruit. I think I'll stick with calling it a Mandelo. Cocktail is too confusing but Mandelo is a great reference to its parentage

  • 8 years ago

    Most here know that I am not a fan of UCR or its "Ivory Tower Knowledge"; in the real world, it is a Cocktail grapefruit; and that will be the name by which the consumer will recognize it.

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