John Myers
Kumquats, tangerines, and clementines look and taste like citrus fruits. Kumquats are the smallest known citrus fruits and do not belong to the Citrus genus like tangerines, but to the Fortunella genus.
Within the group of mandarins there are three subgroups, all traded under the generic term mandarins, namely the pure clementine varieties, the hybrid varieties and the satsuma varieties. In Germany, mandarins from the clementine and hybrid variety groups are usually traded. The opinion that clementines are higher quality, seedless, or sweeter than the hybrid varieties has become widely accepted. The form of this statement is incorrect.
Both clementines and hybrid varieties can have seeds. The content of seeds depends on whether there is cross-pollination with other mandarin varieties at the time of flowering. The taste also does not depend on whether it is pure clementines or hybrid mandarins. The taste is rather dependent on the acid and sugar ratio. This in turn depends on the time of harvest and of course on the specific properties of the varieties. There are very sweet varieties from the clementine group, such as Clementine Hernandina, and very sweet varieties from the hybrid variety group, such as Orri. All tangerines are eaten without the peel.
The situation is different with the small, egg-shaped kumquats. They are four to five centimeters long and their shell is fine and thin. Because it is usually untreated, the peel can be eaten without hesitation. However, the flavor of the peel is quite bitter, similar to orange peel. The pulp tastes sour-sweet, the taste of the fruit is reminiscent of essential oils.
