Mandarino, Mandarancio, Clementina, Mandarinetto

The mandarin has been joined by two very similar fruits, the satsuma and the clementine, but neither can match the flavour and juiciness of the seedless flesh of the thin-skinned original. This popular citrus fruit comes from China and is now cultivated with great success in Calabria and Sicily, which together produce 75 per cent of the national yield. The rest is grown in Campania, Basilicata, Puglia and Sardinia, although it is now being replaced, at least in part, by the new hybrids.

The clementine is smaller and satsuma larger than the mandarin, and both have a wonderful, deep-orange skin and are rounder than the mandarin. The best-known varieties of mandarin are the Avena, Tardivo di Ciaculli, Tardivo della Conca d’Oro, while the best-known clementine varieties are Comuni, Clementine Monreales, Clementine di Nules and Clementine Orovales. The satsuma - a seedless version of the tangerine with more compact pulp - is used in the same way as the mandarin. Its culture is fairly recent in Italy.