What is the difference between mandarins, oranges, tangerines and pomelos? Here's how to tell them apart easily

Mandarins, tangerines, oranges and pomelos are different varieties of citrus fruits. Because they look similar, they are easily confused by people. Citrus is the general term for tangerines, mandarins, oranges, kumquats, pomelos, trifoliate oranges and so on. The names of mandarins and tangerines have long been confusing. Let's take a look below at what the differences are between mandarins, tangerines, oranges and pomelos!

Mandarins

Mandarins are the ripe fruits of various mandarin species such as the citrus plant of the Rutaceae family. The fruit is relatively large, nearly spherical, with yellow, orange-yellow or orange-red skin. The peel is thick and rough, the spongy layer is thick and loose, and peeling is somewhat difficult. The seeds are egg-shaped. The taste is moderately sweet and sour, and they store well.

Tangerines

Tangerines are the ripe fruits of various tangerine species such as the Fukuju tangerine or the Zhuju tangerine of the Rutaceae family. There are many varieties, including Babu tangerine, jinqian tangerine, sweet tangerine, sour tangerine, Miyagawa, Xinjin tangerine, Owari tangerine, Wenzhou tangerine, Sichuan tangerine and others. The fruit is relatively small, usually flat and round, with orange-red, vermilion or orange-yellow skin. The peel is thin and loose, the spongy layer is thin and tough, and it peels easily, with 7 to 11 segments. The taste is sweet or sour, the seeds are pointed and slender, and they do not store well.

Oranges

Oranges refer to a group of plants under the Citrus subtribe of the Citrus tribe in the subfamily Aurantioideae of the Rutaceae family. Varieties include Jincheng orange and navel orange, and the common ones mainly refer to sweet orange. The fruit is round or oblong, with smooth, relatively thin skin, tightly packed segments that are not easy to peel, and flesh that is moderately sweet and sour and full of aroma.

Pomelos

The pomelo is a kind of citrus fruit, and indeed the largest among them. It is the ripe fruit of the evergreen fruit tree pomelo of the Rutaceae family, also known as zhuluan, leiyou, qigan, wen dan, xiangluan, zhuluan, neizi, zuofan, kungan, choucheng and so on. There are 3 types: white-fleshed pomelo, red-fleshed pomelo and Shatian pomelo. For example, the Shatian pomelo's skin is actually not very thin, and its appearance is not particularly smooth, and the fruit shape is mostly pear-shaped.

The fruit segments of the pomelo are very tightly packed and hard to pull apart. To eat a Shatian pomelo, cut it open with a knife. Each segment of the pomelo is wrapped intact, and the peel will not split open. The taste is purely sweet, sweet with no surprises and no impurities, and there is not much pulp residue.