The Art of the Hybridizer
March 9, 2010 | 
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Shasta Gold Mandarins
Those of you that live in the sunny, warm land to my south are lucky in some ways that I am envious of. One of those are things citrus. When I lived there I loved picking lemons, oranges and grapefruit. There seemed to be at least one of these at, neglected, every house. Many of the fruits of these excursions ended up in screwdrivers, greyhounds (or salty dogs), and margaritas. Ahh, if only it was a bit more temperate of a family rather than so stubbornly sub-tropical. I still can get them, but there is something missing when one must purchase rather than enjoy the thrill of the hunt.
Along with the aforementioned gifts from the Goddess Pomona, I also have a love of the mandarin. Its flavor is more subtle and its intoxicating aroma is a large part of its taste (like the lime). But sometimes even the best of things can get better.
Enter the Shasta Gold mandarin, one of the newest members of the family. I was at a fruit stand the other day and they caught my eye. Deeply orange, large with a rough-appearing hide, it looked sort of like a tangelo without the nipple. Since I am given to exploring novelties of the food world, I picked up about a half a dozen. They’re fantastic. Easy to peel (and the peel is thin), seedless and very juicy. They have the aroma that I expected of a mandarin, and a wee bit tarter than the Murcott.
Apparently, it was developed in 2002 at the University of California Riverside. It is a hybrid of the Temple tangor (a tangerine/orange hybrid) and Dancy and Encore mandarins. So, as far as things go, it’s a real newcomer. If I still lived in the sunny, warm land of my origin, I would definitely plant at least one in my yard. But, then again, if I lived there I would be getting my apples and pears by proxy. Such a conundrum!
Anyway, my fellow foodnuts, give it a go. Perhaps one day it will be as common as other citrus are in the land of Helios. Then your children might have memories of “Shasta Gold” hunts to make an as-yet-unnamed cocktail.
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