Quiche Lorraine, etc.

[Duane Campbell]

On Thu, 18 Jan 2001 17:16:55 EST Bapopik at AOL.COM writes:
> KID-GLOVE ORANGES (TANGERINES)
>
>    I don't have DARE handy here in SIBL.
>    From THE STEWARD, December 1942, pg. 22, col. 1:
>
>    Tangerines are coming up from the South and will continue to flow
> in until early Spring.  Known in Florida as "kid glove" oranges,
> these tiny members of the citrus family make an acceptable
> substitute...

As a garden writer, this is an area where I can perhaps add to the
confusion.

Growing up in the 50s in Pennsylvania, I remember tangerines as a
Christmas treat. They were like small oranges, but with a very loose
skin.

This year my wife came home with a demi case of 'Clementines' from Spain
which looked like tangerines but with the tight skin of an orange. I had
never heard of Clementines.

Sturdevant's  Edible Plants of the World (1909) lists them under Citrus
aurantium, using the names tangerine and Mandarin as synonymous It cites
Gallesio (1811) and Loudon (1860), the latter specifically mentioning the
loose rind. (If you want full citations, let me know privately)

Bailey's _Manual of Cultivated Plants_(1924 rev 1949) lists Citrus
reticulata as either Mandarin or Tangerine. Hortus III agrees and lists a
cultivar 'Clementine'.

The HP book on Citrus pictures a dozen varieties of "Mandarin", one of
which is called 'Clementine'. It goes on to say, "Some mandarins are
called tangerines. The word tangerine seems to have developed with
'Dancy' which has a more brightly colored, ornage-red peel than most
mandarins. Since the introduction of 'Dancy', the varieties with a deeper
red coloration have been labeled tangerines, although they are all
technically mandarins." It notes that 'Dancy' is the traditional
Christmas tangerine and came to Florida from Morocco.

Clear?

D