To market

Would you believe, the tangelolo?

Ah! December, a time of laughter, wide-eyed children and family specialties from America's melting pot. It's a time for seafood markets to stock up on delicacies such as live eel, oysters and salted cod. December is when Floridians send mountains of scrubbed and shiny oranges and grapefruit -- incongruously packed with fearsome chocolate alligators -- to frigid family and friends "up North."

In a few years, at least one of these traditions could change. If conditions are right, those crates of Florida sunshine sent to northern climes could brim with a new variety of citrus called the tangelolo.

That's right. Les Harrison of the Florida Department of Agriculture describes it as a hybrid that is three-quarters grapefruit and a quarter tangerine. Furthermore, he said, it's sweeter than a regular grapefruit. It's also known as Early Sweet.

In taste tests, people who don't normally like grapefruit raved about it, he said.

But don't get too excited. The new, oddly named hybrid, not to be confused with the tangelo, might not be available for awhile, says Jose Chaparro, a research geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's horticultural research laboratory in Fort Pierce, which is developing it.

"We're still doing an evaluation on it, looking to see how well the fruit handles in storage," Chaparro said.

"And hopefully, in the next few months, we will decide whether it is going to be released or not. It could be the next four years before people begin seeing it in the market and six to eight years before they see it in large quantity."

Harrison led a team from the Department of Agriculture that conducted taste tests of the fruit in mid-November. Middle and high school students, senior citizens, mall goers and students at Florida A&M University were among the tasters.

"We got very, very positive responses," Harrison said of the fruit.

"We cut them up in sections and let them try a section. As a control, we had two other grapefruit varieties. The people who don't like grapefruit really like this new stuff. About 85 to 90 percent of the people like this."

It was a particular hit with middle school students, Harrison said.

"Try getting a kid to eat a grapefruit. I had a number of teenagers practically say, 'I don't like grapefruit, but I love this stuff.' It's much sweeter than your traditional grapefruit," he said.

Externally, said Chaparro, the tangelolo looks "very much like a grapefruit." He said its flesh is cream-colored, and there are only about four seeds in each fruit.

"It has a very mild flavor, and it doesn't have any of the bitterness that people object to. It definitely is a fruit that is meant to be consumed fresh," he said.

There is a practical reason for developing this hybrid. It would be harvested earlier than other grapefruit -- more in time for Thanksgiving than Christmas -- and, it is hoped, help increase growers' anemic profits.

"It would offer growers something new, a better revenue stream," Harrison said.

Produce

In December look for apples, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cranberries, grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, pears, carambola, sweet potatoes, winter squash, avocados, string beans, snap beans, eggplant, limes, mushrooms, peppers, radishes, tomatoes, sweet corn and strawberries.

Seafood

Sarma Reynolds of Dunedin Fish Market is already getting orders for her stuffed salmon, and she is preparing to sell plenty of oysters, caviar, shrimp, clams and red snapper. Like other seafood markets, she is getting ready for the holiday crush.

Shrimp is a big item this time of year," says Larry Mastry of Mastry's in St. Petersburg. Canned crab meat is also popular.

"It's a nice product for making crab cakes and different kinds of stuffing. We sell quite a few at this time of year," Mastry said.

Unfortunately, stone crab, which is in season, has not been plentiful, he said.

"They haven't really been able to catch them. The demand has been bigger than the supply."

The availability of grouper, another favorite, is better, he said.

At Save On Seafood in St. Petersburg, Gib Migliano says the store will have ethnic specialties such as octopus, live and smoked eel, bacalao, whole snapper and smoked salmon for the holidays.

"It's good to order ahead of time," he advises.

In Dunedin, Mrs. Reynolds will offer her stuffed salmon.

"This is my specialty. I stuff it with flounder and broccoli. You can serve it cold or hot. When you serve it cold, I have a special sauce you can dip it in," she said.

"It's something different and you know everybody is so busy in the month of December, they are happy for whatever is done and they just have to put on a plate."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright