Thinking of Sweet Mountain Mandarins
When I saw the first Placer Mountain Mandarin signs going up, my first thought was I can’t wait to taste this local fruit again.
My second thought was that this is Farm to Fork in action, with no fork necessary to enjoy this candy-like fruit. The Placer County Mountain Mandarin Growers Association has done a wonderful job uniting farms to brand the mandarins unique to Placer County.
My third thought was admiration that the group has done research to differentiate the local crop from competitors. According to the nutrition section of the Mountain Mandarin website:
“Made famous in a 2008 study by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Placer County Owari Satsuma mandarins offer high concentrations of the phytochemical synephrine. According to the study, synephrine concentrations in Placer County mandarins were up to six times higher than values previously determined for orange juices. The study concluded that ten ounces of mandarin juice contains as much synephrine as one over-the-counter decongestant pill.”
This all led up to seeing an offer to win free tickets to the 20th Mountain Mandarin Festival being held Nov. 22-24, 2013 in Auburn, CA. I look forward to using the tickets I won, tasting the delicious fruit, seeing Placer County farmers and experiencing a locally grown marketing effort. Thank you to the mandarin farmers and promoters who put Placer County on the map as the place to get the best mandarins.
