How to Pick a Good Mandarin | Mandarins.com.au

The single best test for a good mandarin is weight. Pick up two fruit of similar size and choose the heavier one. More weight means more juice and less dry pith. This applies to every variety, at every point in the season.

Look

Good mandarins have a bright, glossy skin. The colour depends on variety. Imperial is yellow-orange. Afourer and Daisy are deep orange-red. Honey Murcott is a richer orange.

One thing to know about Imperial: Australian-grown Imperials can show a green tinge on the skin and still be fully ripe and sweet. Unlike most fruit, mandarins do not ripen after picking. Green colouring on Imperial is a climate effect from warm nights, not a sign of underripe fruit. Do not pass over an Imperial just because the skin shows some green.

Avoid fruit with shrivelled or sunken skin. Rough, knobbly, or spotted skin can indicate the fruit has lost moisture.

Feel

The fruit should feel firm and heavy. A small amount of give under gentle pressure is fine. Fruit that feels hard and very light is likely dry. Fruit that feels soft or has mushy spots is past its best.

For easy-peel varieties like Imperial, a slightly puffy or loose skin is normal later in the season. It does not mean the fruit is old or dry. Judge by weight first, then texture.

Smell

Fresh mandarins have a clean citrus smell at the stem end. A strong, sweet aroma is a good sign. Fermented or off smells suggest the fruit has deteriorated.

What to avoid

Light fruit relative to its size (usually dry inside)
Soft spots or sunken patches on the skin
Mould at the stem end or anywhere on the surface
Very rock-hard fruit with no give at all (can be dry)
Fruit that feels hollow when squeezed

Buying bagged fruit at supermarkets

Most supermarket mandarins are sold in 1 kg or 2 kg bags, especially during the main season from May to August. You cannot choose individual fruit from a bag, so look at the visible fruit. Check the bag for any obvious soft spots, mould, or condensation inside the packaging. Condensation inside a sealed bag can accelerate mould.

When the label says only “mandarin” without a variety name, the fruit is most likely Imperial from April to June, and Afourer or Honey Murcott from July onwards.

Buying at farmers markets

At a farmers market or roadside stall you can usually pick individual fruit. Apply the weight test and smell test. Ask the grower what variety it is and when it was picked. Fruit that came off the tree in the past week is significantly better than cold-stored fruit.

Some farm stalls in Central Queensland (Gayndah and Mundubbera areas) and the Victorian Sunraysia will sell direct during the main season. This is usually the freshest and best-value source.

By variety: what good looks like

Imperial: Yellow-orange skin, may have a green blush and still be excellent. Skin is thin and smooth. Should feel firm and heavy. Avoid light or very puffy fruit late in the season (from August onward) as Imperial is at its tail end by then.

Afourer: Deep red-orange skin. Should feel heavy and firm. Low seed count. The darker the skin, the further into maturity it is. Very dark, almost burgundy-red colouring is normal for this variety.

Honey Murcott: Orange skin, tighter than Imperial. Firm and dense. This variety is seeded (typically 10 to 20 seeds per fruit), so expect seeds. Weight is particularly important here as Honey Murcott can look fine but be drier than expected.

Hickson: Larger than Imperial, with a slight neck at the stem. Yellowish-orange rind. Should feel heavy relative to its size. Seeded.

Daisy: Medium to large, deep orange glossy skin. Easy to peel. Moderately seeded.

A note on puffiness

Puffy skin on an Imperial is often misread as a sign of old or poor fruit. Fruiterer Thanh Truong, speaking to ABC News, put it plainly: Imperials start tight and get puffier as they mature, but for most of the season the fruit inside is just as good either way. The weight test is a more reliable guide than puffiness.