Мандарин

The fruit and the tree

Citrus reticulata is a moderate-sized tree some 7.6 meters (25 ft) in height. The mandarin is small and oblate, unlike the roughly spherical sweet orange (which is a mandarin-pomelo hybrid). The peel is thin and loose, so mandarins are usually easier to peel and to split into segments.

Origin and relatives

The wild mandarin was one of the original citrus species. Through breeding or natural hybridization, it is the ancestor of many hybrid citrus cultivars. The wild mandarin evolved in a restricted region of South China and Vietnam. The ancestral mandarin was bitter, but most commercial strains descend from crosses with the pomelo, which gives them sweet fruit. The tangerine is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange or a closely related species. The tangerine is also seen as a hybrid of mandarin orange varieties with some pomelo contribution.

Composition of the oil

The main components include limonene, terpinene and myrcene. Limonene is a monoterpene, and the oil can contain 65 % to 85 % of it. γ-Terpinene makes up 10 to 20 % of the oil. Minor amounts of α-pinene, β-pinene and β-myrcene are present, along with linalool and aldehydes such as decanal and octanal. Methyl N-methylanthranilate makes up 0.3 to 0.6 % of the oil, against 60 % in petitgrain mandarin oil. One analysed batch contained 73.36% limonene, 17.51% γ-terpinene, 2.11% α-pinene, 1.80% myrcene and 1.43% β-pinene.

Grades and related oils

Compositional differences arise from both cultivar and stage of fruit ripeness, with green fruit unripe, yellow fruit partially ripe and red fruit fully ripe. Petitgrain mandarin oil is a different oil, obtained by hydrodistillation of the small branches, leaves and very young fruits of the tree. The two oils differ in composition.

Peel and production

The peel is used fresh, whole or as zest, or dried as chenpi. The oils expressed from the peel are used as flavor and fragrance materials. In 2024, world production of mandarin oranges, reported together with tangerines and clementines, was approximately 50 million tonnes, led by China with 51% of the total.