Tangelo is the name for a hybrid fruit, made from combining a grapefruit with a tangerine. Just
as there are many varieties of tangerines and grapefruits, there are many different varieties of tangelos, all with
slightly different taste profiles. They originated in Southeast Asia as many as 3500 years ago, but are grown widely wherever other citrus
crops are now. The first intentional crosses in
the United States were done in the 19th century. The most distinguishing feature of the tangelo is its
“neck”, a pronounced bump on the top of the fruit. The neck may look slightly unusual, but it is extremely
useful, since tangelos have deep orange, loose fitting peels when ripe and breaking off the neck makes them
exceptionally easy to peel.
As with any hybridized product, the properties of the fruit vary depending on the specific cross, so a lack of uniformity of the properties of the fruit should not be surprising. Unless all your fruit comes from the same tree, expect some variation. For the most part, tangelos are very juicy and sweet, though many have a noticeably high acidity level to tasters who are sensitive to the flavor of grapefruit. They are heavy for their size, which is larger than a tangerine but smaller than a grapefruit. While many contain far fewer seeds than the average orange, some do contain a fair number of large seeds. Some trees will even produce fruit with alternately high and low numbers of seeds each year.
Tangelos can be used in any recipe that calls for oranges and make excellent juice, but the following recipes feature tangelos.
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