Clementine

The clementine fruit is endowed with an incredibly pleasant aroma and a rich sweet taste. This surprisingly juicy treat has the properties of a natural antidepressant, and therefore, eating it, we get not only gastronomic pleasure, but also a lot of useful substances.

In general, clementine fruit belongs to the root family and is a mixture of citrus fruits: mandarin and bitter Seville orange, which is also often called king orange. In addition, this delicious citrus is known as Italian mandarin and navel orange.

It seems interesting that, unlike its citrus brothers, clementine fruit is quite young. He appeared in 1902 in Algeria as a result of the breeding experiments of the famous French breeder and priest Pierre Clement. In general, this is where the name comes from. Today, clementine fruit is grown mainly in the Mediterranean countries - in particular in Morocco, Italy, Spain, France and Algeria. Accordingly, the largest volumes of juicy fruits are exported to all ends of the world from these warm countries.

In its appearance, the clementine fruit resembles the tangerine familiar to us, but the first is more saturated with dark orange, as well as the presence of a considerable number of bones, which are practically absent in the tangerine. In addition, the shiny and thin skin of clementine is quite hard, and the flesh is very fragrant and juicy. The clementine fruit is slightly flattened, and in size it can be both large and medium, but not miniature.

To date, three varieties of clementine fruit are known, which directly depend on the area where they were grown and harvested. Corsican clementine is considered especially valuable, which is distinguished by an unusually rich aroma and lack of seeds. Fruits of the Spanish variety, as a rule, can be either small enough or very large. There are about ten seeds in such fruits. Well, most of all seeds are contained in the Montreal form of clementine fruit. From November to February, Spanish and Corsican clementines are on sale, and a little earlier (in October) you can buy a Montreal variety.

Clementine fruit is great for both fresh and prepared in numerous dishes and drinks. These juicy and sweet citrus fruits make excellent biscuits, cakes, desserts, snacks, marinades, sauces and more. For example, in England, liqueur is made from them, and candied clementine fruits are added to brandy.