Mandarinquat Delivery or Pickup

A botanical hybrid of the mandarin orange and kumquat, the mandarinquat belongs to the citrus family. It's often thought that mandarinquats are related to oranges because of their coloring, but they have no orange parentage. The fruit is also known as the Indio mandarinquat, a reference to Indio, California, where the first trees were grown.

Dr. John Carpenter, who worked at the U.S. Date and Citrus Station, created the first mandarinquat around 1972 when he crossed an Heirloom Nagami kumquat from Florida with a Fancy mandarin. It took until 1989 for commercial growers to become introduced to the mandarinquat, which were originally grown for ornamental use and later sold for eating.

Today, mandarinquats are commercially grown in southern California and are about twice the size of a regular kumquat, so it's about 2 to 3 inches in diameter and about 2 inches in length. Kumquats are about the size of your thumb, and you can easily pop them into your mouth without having juice drip down your chin, whereas mandarinquats are about the size of a child's fist. If you decide to eat these whole, you might make more of a mess with the juice.

The mandarinquat's elongated and round tear-drop shape narrows near the neck, almost resembling a nose at the end. Its bright orange flesh is tender and juicy, and you'll probably find three to nine small seeds inside. Thin membranes divide the fruit into six to seven segments. Its citrus taste is mostly sweet and a little sour, almost like a sour tangerine.

Mandarinquats aren't available year-round, so if you're craving one, make sure you purchase them in the winter through early spring. The thin rind is dark orange at maturity, and it has a rough pebbled appearance with many tiny brown spots. Select ones that are glossy and firm to the touch. Avoid fruit that is bruised or soft, as this could signal that they're overripe. Citrus fruit doesn't ripen well off the tree, so you should select pieces that are as close to ripe as possible.

Like other kumquat hybrids, mandarinquats can be eaten whole, including the peel. So if you hate peeling citrus, this is the type of fruit for you. Plus, eating the skin balances the tartness a bit. They do, however, have small seeds that you might want to remove. Rubbing the fruit between your palms will bring out the oils in the skin, which can offset the tartness you might experience when eating them raw. Other ways to enjoy this unique fruit include eating them raw as a snack, sliced into salads, or paired with cheese and nuts.

You can mix them into baked goods such as cakes, bread, cookies, and rolls. Cook them in a simple syrup, garnish them over meat dishes, or puree them and make preserves and marmalade. Consider pressing them and drinking the juice or adding it to a cocktail. Don't forget about the rind, which you can caramelize or candy for a sweet flavor.

Before you think about how you will store your mandarinquats, make sure you have enough on hand. Open your Instacart app, add mandarinquats to your cart, and an Instacart shopper will get started on your order. Simply wait for your order to arrive at your doorstep, which can happen in as little as 2 hours!