Mandarin orange

The mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata), also known as the mandarin or mandarine, is a small citrus tree with fruit resembling other oranges, usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Reddish-orange mandarin cultivars can be marketed as tangerines, but this is not a botanical classification.

Mandarins are smaller and oblate, rather than spherical, like the common oranges (which are a mandarin hybrid). The taste is considered less sour, as well as sweeter and stronger. A ripe mandarin is firm to slightly soft, heavy for its size, and pebbly-skinned. The peel is thin, with little white mesocarp, so they are usually easier to peel and to split into segments. Hybrids generally have these traits to a lesser degree. The mandarin is tender and is damaged easily by cold. It can be grown in tropical and subtropical areas.

According to genetic studies, the mandarin was one of the original citrus species; through breeding or natural hybridization, it is the ancestor of many hybrid citrus cultivars. With the citron and pomelo, it is the ancestor of the most commercially important hybrids (such as sweet and sour oranges, grapefruit, and many lemons and limes). The mandarin has also been hybridized with other citrus species, such as the desert lime and the kumquat. Though the ancestral mandarin was bitter, most commercial mandarin strains derive from hybridization with pomelo, which gave them a sweet fruit.

Mandarin orange Nutrition Facts: Calories, Carbs, and Health Benefits

Mandarin orange is composed of 85.17% water, 13.34% carbohydrates, 0.81% protein, and 0.31% fat. One medium mandarin orange supplies you with 11.739 grams of carbohydrates, which is 9.03 percent of the minimum of 130 grams of carbohydrates you should have daily. That same a 100 gram reference serving of mandarin orange provides 53 calories and has a high content of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), containing 35.6% of the Daily Value (DV) per 100-gram amount (right table of USDA nutrient values). This means if your diet contains mandarin oranges, it helps your body to reduce probability of heart disease by fighting cholesterol, reduce the risk of anemia as this vitamin absorbs iron, improve the efficiency of lymphocytes (or white blood cells) to heal wounds and it is effective against dementia since vitamin C impacts memory positivelyhigh blood pressurethe occurrence of cancer. It contains low amount of minerals.