When do Ougan mandarins ripen? An introduction to the Ougan mandarin ripening period

The Ougan mandarin is a traditional local citrus variety of China. During the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties it was listed as a tribute fruit by the imperial court, and its cultivation history spans about 2,400 years. The ancients had a verse: “Where there is a forest, there are orange trees; where there is water, there are lotus flowers”. In 1990 it was designated by the Beijing “Asian Games” as the exclusive fruit for athletes. So when do Ougan mandarins ripen?

When Ougan mandarins ripen and are harvested: winter (December to January of the Gregorian calendar)

Ancient medical books such as Bencao Shiyi and Suixiju Yinshi Pu all contain introductions to the medicinal value of the Ougan mandarin. Among them, the Qing dynasty Oucheng Bu once recorded: “People treasure the Ougan mandarin because it can ward off coal poison. At the capital, for the year-end imperial offerings, it became an annual custom. When mandarins were scarce, even at two or three hundred [coins] per fruit, everyone still sought them”, which shows that at that time the Ougan mandarin was already widely renowned in the Beijing-Tianjin area. In the Ming and Qing eras, because the Ougan mandarin was easy to store and transport, and could safely cross the frozen Bohai port in winter, it became a noble food used by the upper classes of the Beijing-Tianjin area to relieve opium mouth-poisoning, and its market was very broad.