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Life is a bit sweeter as honeybell season begins
By JORGE SANCHEZ © St. Petersburg Times, published January 13, 2001 Every year, the serious Citrus connoisseur awaits the arrival of January with anticipation -- and plenty of napkins. This month marks the harvest of the valued honeybell tangelo. The honeybell is considered the juiciest of all the orange-type citrus. It resembles the naval orange, but is actually a cross between a Dancy tangerine and a Duncan grapefruit. The deep-orange fruit has a crown or dome at the blossom end, a somewhat pebbly skin and is nearly free of the white stringy stuff and seeds that can be found inside most other oranges. Citrus lovers fawn over the honeybell's incredible amount of juice and its unmatched sweetness. Simply heft one in your hand and you can feel how much juice is packed inside. "It's the cream of the crop," said Martha Burns, an employee at Ferris Groves in Floral City. The honeybell harvest is short: basically the month of January. Then they disappear until next year. The season is barely under way now, and most roadside vendors have a sign trumpeting the honeybell's arrival. The early season honeybells might be a bit tart, but the sweeter ones will begin to arrive as the month draws to an end. "This is just the start, and in a few weeks, they will be at their best, both in juice and sweetness," said Penny Warden, manager of the Farmer's Market fruit stand on U.S. 41 S in Inverness. "But everybody asks for them." Among the honeybell fans shopping at Citrus fruit stands this week were William and Eva DeLine of Sugarmill Woods. "I've been eating honeybells for about 40 years," he said. "It's without a doubt the tastiest orange in the state. "But you've got to eat them over the sink and with a lot of napkins," he said. Honeybells are so sought after that most fruit shippers have honeybell gift certificates, which are given as Christmas presents, but cannot be redeemed until January. "When we ship a crate of them, we include a plastic bib inside," said Burns at Ferris Groves.
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