Fresh Citrus Varieties To Eat In Winter
Winter brings a wide range of citrus fruits, each posessing their own unique personality. Some bring the sweetness while others turn up the acidity, with an array of flavors in between. If all you know are your basic oranges, it’s time to get familiar with the bigger family, and to maybe even find a new favorite!
Stocking up on these gems in the winter is always a good idea because just about every citrus variety is a good source of vitamin C, which has powerful immune-boosting powers (a must during flu and cold season). All the more reason to get a bunch of fruit delivered by FreshDirect to snack on night and day for keeping your defenses strong.
Top citrus varieties
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Oranges
Season: Fall through early spring
Extra-big, beautiful, seedless, very low in acid and filled with mild, sweet flesh.
Season: Early winter through mid-spring
They might look like regular oranges from the outside, but Cara Cara’s pulp is the color of pink grapefruit, with a flavor that’s sweeter and lower in acid than navels.
Season: Mid-winter through mid-spring
Its ruby-red flesh has spicy citrus flavors and an intense raspberry pucker. It is not as sweet as a traditional orange, so it goes well with arugula or other strong greens in a salad.
Mandarins
Season: Mid-fall through early winter
The satsuma has a mild, sweet flavor that is subtler than other citrus fruits. Petite and elegant, this Japanese beauty is the trophy of the fruit bowl.
Clementine
Season: Mid-fall through mid-spring
A bright little jewel with deep orange flesh and lots of satiny, sweet-tart flavor. The citrus family’s champion for easy peeling, they’re quite often seedless.
Season: Mid-winter through mid-spring
This sweet mandarin and tangerine hybrid originated in Japan. Its name comes from the distinctive knot on top, plus its sumo wrestler size. Naturally seedless, easy to peel, and juicy.
Season: Mid-winter through mid-spring
A bright-orange beauty with rich, sweet-and-tart flesh. Easy to peel and naturally seedless, they’re perfect as kids’ snacks or lunch bag additions.
Season: Early to mid-winter
The size of a walnut, Kishus are seedless, easy to peel, with a very high natural sugar content.
Tangerines
Minneola tangelo
Season: Early to mid-winter
A cross between the sugared spiciness of a tangerine and the zippy tartness of a pomelo. The juice is sweet and sour, and the uniquely bell-shaped stem end makes it a dream to peel.
Pixie
Season: Early to mid-spring
Pixies have gained a loyal following thanks to their low acid and late peak season. Great for kids, they’re both easy to peel and seedless, making these jewel-toned gems great for lunches and snacks.
Grapefruit
Red or pink
Season: Mid-fall through mid-spring
This brilliant ruby-colored fruit has a cherry sweetness, a touch of tartness, and almost no bitterness. Although you’ll usually find grapefruit available on FreshDirect, we especially await the arrival of super-sweet Heller peak-season grapefruit near the beginning of the cold season each year.
Season: Mid-fall through mid-winter
White grapefruit is bursting with juice that has hints of flowers and lemon. The flavor is sweet and bitter and the flesh has a firm, citrusy texture.
Pommelo
Season: Late fall through mid-winter
The brilliant ruby-colored pomelo has a big, bold citrus taste with echoes of a very young red wine. It is sweet and tart but not bitter, with large segments that separate easily. The fragrant skin peels off effortlessly.
Specialty
Kumquats
Season: Mid-fall through mid-winter
You can pop these grape-sized citrus fruits directly into your mouth (the rind is edible) and enjoy their powerful taste. Flavors by Bhumi brings us both sweet and sour kumquat varieties.
Makrut lime is a key ingredient in Thai cuisine, which uses its sharply sour juice and fragrant zest to season dishes. This citrus fruit is marked by its smaller size and deep green bumpy skin.
Buddha’s hand citron
The Buddha’s Hand citron (pictured above) is one of the most visually striking varieties of citrus, with finger-like tendrils that give it an almost alien appearance. Beyond its decorativeness, it is used mostly for its zest (there is no pulp inside), which is wonderfully fragrant with notes of lemon and lavender.
Pink lemons
This eye-catching lemon’s skin is streaked with yellow and cucumber-green, with an occasional pink blush. Low on seeds but big on flavor, the rosé-colored flesh has a hint of grapefruit, making it tart but not lip-puckering.
Our partners at Flavors by Bhumi started out with a quest to grow some of the most incredible citrus on the planet locally in New Jersey. Nowadays, they’re known among chefs for their superior quality produce and unique varieties. Their hard-to-find fruits are available at FreshDirect to give your citrus dishes a one-of-a-kind flourish.
Citrus recipes to make