The Satsuma Is Not a Clementine: A Field Guide to the November Fruit Bowl

Every November a bag of satsumas turns up on a counter in Acadiana and disappears in about four days. Then somebody buys clementines, and the family spends a week arguing about whether they are the same fruit. They are not. Both are mandarins, but a satsuma is bigger, softer, and its peel sits loose enough that it comes off in one piece without a knife. It also ripens earlier, which is why it shows up before Thanksgiving instead of in the middle of winter.

Color is the worst signal a satsuma gives you. A ripe one can still be green, and a fully orange one can still be tart, because cool nights are what build the sugar. Judge by weight and give instead: heavy for its size, and it should yield just slightly under a gentle squeeze. If the first ones off your tree taste sharp, wait a week and taste again.

Pick with scissors, not by pulling, and leave the green cap on when it comes off with the fruit. Store them in a bowl on the counter and sort the bag when you get home, because one soft satsuma will take the ones touching it. Beyond eating them over the sink, they make a soft, less bitter marmalade, a fast vinaigrette, and a finishing note for pork or poultry. Zest is flavor. A whole peel dropped in a pot is a mistake.

Read the full story at 337 Magazine: The Satsuma Is Not a Clementine: A Field Guide to the November Fruit Bowl

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