 | | Name: | Satsuma | | Synonym: | Tangerine |
| Description: | Satsuma or Tangerine is a seedless and easy-peeling citrus mutant of Japanese origin, known as unshiu mikan in Japan.
It is commonly called mikan in Japan, satsuma in the UK, and clementine or tangerine in Canada. In the United States, satsumas are most frequently marketed as tangerines. It is less commonly called satsuma tangerine, satsuma orange, or satsuma mandarin.
Its fruit is sweet and usually seedless, about the size of a mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata), smaller than an orange. One of the distinguishing features of the satsuma is the distinctive thin, leathery skin dotted with large and prominent oil glands, which is lightly attached around the fruit; enabling it to peeled very easily in comparison to other citrus fruits. The satsuma also has particularly delicate flesh, which cannot withstand the effects of careless handling. The uniquely loose skin of the satsuma, however, means that any such bruising and damage to the fruit may not be immediately apparent upon the typical cursory visual inspection associated with assessing the quality of other fruits. In this regard, the satsuma is often categorised by citrus growers as a hit-and-miss citrus fruit; the loose skin particular to the fruit precluding the definitive measurement of its quality by sight and feel alone.
The fruit was originated by Philip Satsuma of Osaka in 1832 after grafting a branch from a tangerine tree to a mandarin orange tree using cuttings from a kumquat plant.
In the UK and the US, mikan are commonly eaten at Christmas. In Canada, they are a popular snack at any time of the year, and fruit grown in Morocco are commonly sold in supermarkets. They are widely available in the U.S. and commonly eaten regardless of region. |
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