Tangelos are a citrus fruit hybrid which combines the flavours of tangerine with grapefruit or pomelo. They may also labelled as ‘honeybells’.

The first known crosses whether deliberate or not were made by Dr. Walter T. Swingle at Eustis, Florida, in 1897, and Dr. Herbert J. Webber at Riverside, California, in 1898. The crosses were between Citrus paradisi × Citrus reticulate. They are unlike other citrus fruits and have their own class designated Citrus X tangelo J. Ingram & H. E. Moore (C. X paradisi X C. reticulata).

They also possess the same nutritional benefits of these two citrus fruits.

Overview Of Benefits

• Rich in dietary fibre
• High vitamin and mineral content
• Rich in flavonoids (similar to oranges and grapefruit)

Appearance

A fruit about the size of a large cricket ball or adult fist. The skin or peel is thin and loose with a characteristic ‘nipple’ at the stem.

The Tree

The trees are large, more cold-tolerant than the grapefruit but not quite as hardy as the mandarin. Nucellar embryos are not uncommon in these hybrids and most of the cultivars are self-sterile, so a majority come true from seed.

Flavour

Juicy, similar to tangerine but with less flesh. The flavour of the cv. ‘Mapo’ variety has been characterised (Dugo et al., 1990). Limonene is consistently the main component of all the essential oils of the hybrids and the parents.

Uses

While tangelos are good for you raw or cooked, they will retain more of their vitamin content if they are consumed raw. Use as a substitute for mandarin oranges or sweet oranges. Peel tangelos right before eating them to minimize their contact with air.

Health Benefits Of Tangelos

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that eating one medium-sized tangelo provides 1/2 cup of the 2 cups of fruit recommended for adult men and women.

A diet with a high intake of the nutrients and compounds provided by tangelos may help decrease the risk of several serious medical conditions. If you suffer from indigestion, talk to your doctor before adding citrus fruit like tangelos into your regular diet. The acidic content of tangelos may irritate the lining of the digestive tract.

Vitamins

The fruit contains the following:-

• Vitamin A
• Thiamine (B1)
• Riboflavin (B2)
• Niacin
• Folate
• Pantothenic acid
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin C (rich)

One medium-sized tangelo provides 45 percent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recommended daily allowance of vitamin C for a healthy adult as part of a 2,000-calorie diet. Consuming plenty of vitamin C may help prevent hypertension, heart disease, osteoarthritis and age-related macular degeneration.

The vitamin C in foods degrades rapidly when it is exposed to heat, light and air. To maximize the amount of vitamin C you get from a tangelo, consume the fruit within three to four days of purchase and store it in a cool, dark location.

Dietary Fiber

One medium-sized tangelo contains about 2 grams of dietary fiber, or 8 per cent of the RDA of fiber.

The main fibre component is soluble. A high soluble fibre content in the diet is suggested to lower blood cholesterol levels and help regulate blood sugar levels in diabetics.

Flavonoids

Flavonones are the main types of flavonoids in this fruit. When citrus fruit is part of a regular diet, it is thought that those who eat more citrus fruit are less susceptible to stroke.

References

Dugo, G., Cotroneo, A., Verzera, A., Dugo, G. and Licandro, G. (1990), ‘Mapo’ tangelo essential oil. Flavour Fragr. J., 5 pp. 205–210. doi:10.1002/ffj.2730050404