Citrus, Tangelo, Honeybell 'Minneola'

I have to disagree with the two floridians above. Minneola tangelo does grow well here in california. There are comercial plantations of ...Read Moreminneola tangelo throughout the southern and eastern foothills of the San Joaquin Valley in central Cal, and im pretty sure there are other plantations throughout the famed, citrus-growing counties of SoCal. I have a young minneola tangelo that survived our arctic blast of Jan 2007 (temps plummeted into the low 20s for a week) without any protection. It is currently sending out new growth and blooms. Dec 3, 2007. z9 CA

Minneola is a cross between 'Bowen' grapefruit & 'Dancy' tangerine.

I have twice lost a Minneola tangelo, the second time to a prolonged drought (three years in a row). Forget what happened the first time....Read More I don't mean to suggest that the tangelo is less drought-resistant than an orange: the plant was growing farther from the sprinkler system.

What I particularly like about the Minneola tangelo is its tangy, sprightly flavor. Early in the season I liked the acidic fruit; later in the season, my mother liked the sweeter ones. Everybody happy.

I'll take a tangelo over an orange any old time, especially in Florida. It has a fine-grained flesh, never coarse and yukky. One of its ancestors, the Duncan grapefruit, is regarded far more highly by old-timers than its blander descendants Marsh and Ruby. It is very seedy but flavorful.

The Minneola tangelo is great for eating out of hand, juicing, and using in fruit salads. I even used it in an unusual recipe for chocolate mousse that called for orange juice and grated orange rind, substituting the tangelo for the orange.

Why I prefer tangelos to oranges in Florida: our oranges are juicy but too sweet for my taste. Not so the tangelo. John McPhee, in his entertaining book ORANGES, quoted a Floridian as saying you could hit a California orange with a Mack truck and scarcely wet the pavement; and a Californian as saying you had to get into the bathtub to eat a Florida orange.

The Honeybell, with an extremely short season is very unique among all the citrus fruits. It is so unique that it has created a popular n...Read Moreiche in the gift fruit market and is most popular for an "eating-out-of-hand" variety. It has also become a popular fruit commercially.

And what’s more? The Honeybells do not grow in California but find only the southern Florida’s limestone the most conducive for producing good quality crop.

Honeybells are larger than the Tangerines, and have fewer seeds with much of the desirable flavor of the Tangerines. It is about 3" – 3 1/2" in diameter with a shape varying from round to somewhat bell shaped, often with a dome at the blossom end. The peel is fairly loose, varying with the variety, and easily removed. The pulp is often colorful, subacid, of fine flavor and very juicy. It is deep orange to red-orange in color with a smoother, but sometimes pebbly, peel. They have a unique, delicious and distinctive flavor, being rich, tart and aromatic.

Tangelo juice however, does not freeze well nor do the sections.

It has few to no seeds, depending upon how it is grown. If grown in a grove of only Honeybells, it will have no seeds. But it will develop some seeds if grown near other Tangerine or Tangelo varieties, due to cross-pollination.

There are two varieties that are grown in Florida and are available all over the US. One is the Orlando Tangelo and the other being the Minneola or Honeybell Tangelo.

The Honeybell Tangelo is a cross between a Duncan Grapefruit and a Dancy Tangerine. It was developed by researchers in central Florida and released by USDA in 1930.