Winter citrus! These are Mandarinquats, tiny Kishu Mandarins, and a Fremont Mandarin.
Kishu Mandarins are so wee that the segments are about half the size of a quarter.
They’re very sweet, with barely enough tang to feel like you’re actually eating citrus.
Fremont Mandarins tasted similar to the Kishus, but larger, with a brighter peel that would make lovely zest. Also, they have seeds.
I was most excited about the Mandarinquats, which are a Mandarin-Kumquat hybrid. They’re supposed to be similar to kumquats, which have a super sweet peel and tart fruit. Kumquats are about the size of grapes, so you just pop them in your mouth whole, and I love them.
I do not love Mandarinquats. They’re pretty, but the peel is nowhere near as sweet as a kumquat, which means you’re just eating an orange peel. But! If you’re a bartender who wants to make a kumquat drink, these would be less time consuming to juice I guess. Also pretty in floral arrangements?
Meh. Mandarinquat, you are no friend of mine.
Mighty Girl 
I read a book to my daughter about a rabbit that tricks a cat into biting his own tail by eating the fruit of the ice cream bean and now I’m obsessed. I have GOT to try the ice cream bean! I am trying to convince my husband we need to go here – http://www.capetrib.com.au/ and go on a fruit tasting tour. He’s not convinced. Bastard.
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I just tried an Indomandarinquat (same as a mandarinquat?) for the first time.
Have you had a limequat (cross between key lime and kumquat)? They’re pretty sour but I’m going to make limequat meringue cupcakes for my blog this week (I’m exploring one unusual food a week and creating recipes featuring it).
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Is Buddha’s Hand on your list? I saw one at Whole Foods and was very tempted to buy it. The flavored vodka is certainly yum.
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Hi Oana. I’ve tried Buddha’s hand but haven’t had a chance to post it yet. (I have kind of a backlog of fruit going). The zest is amazing in baked goods, which is primarily what you use it for. Get one!
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I will definitely get a Buddha’s hand fruit next time I go to Whole Foods. The shock from the $17 mango has not quite worn off yet.
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I grocery shopped at Berkeley Bowl for the first time last week and thought of your 1000 fruit quest — they have literally 2 full aisles in their produce department full of nothing but citrus varieties. And, like, 8 different kinds of avocados, a multitude of apple varieties, at least 5 different mango types, and on and on. It was overwhelming!
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Okay, I made my Life List. It’s a doozy!
http://julesvsnuts.blogspot.com/2010/02/life-list.html
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