I agree that it's hit or miss. Last year, the only good ones I found were from Aldi, which was nice, because they were also the least expensive.

Anonymous wrote:Buy the ones from Spain

+1...we've had best luck with the one's from Spain and Portugal.

Even so, you kinda have to go by look and feel and hope for the best.

I just had a really good one in my McDonalds Happy Meal. I think it was called a Cutie.

Satsumas from the farmers market. Also a spiffy new grapefruit/orange cross called pink ladies. I'm waiting for the new blood oranges. Dragon fruit is in, and so are persimmons by the bucketfull. Also pomegranates.

Anonymous wrote:Just out of curiosity when you do buy a bag of bad dried out citrus do you return it to the store and get your money back?

I have. And I agree that clementines are really hit or miss. Doesn't seem to matter how fancy a store they came from.

Just out of curiosity when you do buy a bag of bad dried out citrus do you return it to the store and get your money back?

Satsumas from Whole Foods have never done me wrong.

We've gotten some good ones this year from Trader Joe's. Wegmans and Giant have been hit or miss. We love Wegmans, but the fruit is often horrible.

Used to live in southern Spain, and ate these things like candy. They were smaller than a lot sold here now.

(Note about Trader Joe's--support the heirloom navel orange growers! They're not in season yet, but the heirloom navel oranges they carry are amazing.)

Buy the ones from Spain

Try Asian markets. They sell loose mandarins, Satsuma, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citrus_unshiu. A bit more expensive (~$1.99/lb) than boxed ones from Giant etc, but they really worth it.

I order directly from orchids in the south. Google sutsuma orchard. There are organic farms too. They usually pick on Monday and ship fresh. After 7-10 days, they become dry unless you wrap them in wax paper.

Anonymous wrote:We actually started buying the Halo-brand mandarin oranges instead of clementines (at Giant). They seem to be juicier, more flavorful, and they are seedless.

I had some dried out Halos last week. You need to go through each batch amd make sure most are firm but not hard.

We actually started buying the Halo-brand mandarin oranges instead of clementines (at Giant). They seem to be juicier, more flavorful, and they are seedless.