Essential citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, and oranges are available year-round. The remainder of citrus fruits is seasonal. These thick-skinned juice-filled pulpy centre fruits are grown in the spring and summer and harvested in autumn and winter.
Citrus contains numerous types, and each type has multiple varietals. For example, there are over 400 types of oranges in the world. This article highlights the types of citrus fruits you will likely encounter in the Greenways Veg Boxes during the year.
Oranges: Navel – most planted in South Africa. Sweet, tangy and easy to peel. Cara Cara – hybrid blood orange X grapefruit. Flavourful, juicy and easy to peel. Blood Orange – red flesh, rich, berry-tinged flavour. Valencia – found plentifully in South Africa and an export product – easy peeler, seedless and a good juicer.
Grapefruit: Star Ruby – most planted in South Africa. Skin is red-blushed when ripe. Juicy with a sweet-tart flavour. Marsh – smaller, yellow inside and out, seedless, aromatic, sweet with floral undertones. Pomelo – largest citrus with a taste similar to star ruby. Also known as Pamplemousse.
Naartjies: Leanri – characterised by open core, juicy, and easy to peel. Mandarin – flatter on both ends, easy to peel with a mild flavour. Minneola – hybrid grapefruit X Mandarin, bell-shaped with thick dark orange skin. Easy peeler, juicy and tender with a sweet but tart flavour. Tango Mandarin – originally from Spain. Seedless, easy to peel, and sweet with an intense taste. Clementine – thin, glossy skin and easy to peel. Seedless, dark orange when ripe, juicy, sweet and fragrant. Nova – sweet, tender and juicy.
Limes and lemons: Persian lime – sharp, tart with herbal notes. Eureka lemon – bitter-flavour and tangy.
Other: Kumquat – look like mini oval oranges. Bitter, sour taste with a hint of sweet juice. Juicy, sweet and fragrant.