Mandarin, Tangerine, Clementine By Olga Kutukova

Pg. 10-14 3-minute read

In this article, I take a deep dive into three closely related citrus essential oils—all extracted from the rinds of their respective fruits. By the end of this read, you'll have a clearer understanding of their similarities and distinctions, especially when you encounter them on the market. Unfortunately, sellers don’t always provide accurate or complete information about these oils, largely due to the natural tendency of citrus plants to hybridize easily, creating a wide range of species and subspecies. Some of these oils are well-documented, while others remain less understood—adding to the confusion. This article aims to bring clarity to that complexity.

So, we're going to examine the following citrus oils in this article:

MANDARIN (yellow, red, or green)

Family: Rutaceae

Botanical name: Citrus reticulata

TANGERINE

Family: Rutaceae

Botanical name: Citrus × tangerina Yu.Tanaka

CLEMENTINE

family: Rutaceae

Botanical name: Citrus × clementina Yu.Tanaka

These oils are usually obtained by cold pressing, but sometimes distilled oils are also available. We will be discussing cold-pressed oils here.

Mandarins thrive in warm, sunny climates with rich soil and are native to southern China and northern India, though they are now cultivated worldwide, including the Philippines, Mediterranean regions, and the Americas. The mandarin tree grows up to 4–5 meters, bearing orange, yellow, or reddish fruits that vary in ripeness—green (unripe and tart), yellow (partially ripe), and red (fully ripe and sweetest), with Italian, especially Sicilian, oils considered the finest. Tangerines are a naturally developed variety of mandarin influenced by Moroccan terroir, named after the city of Tangier, and are known for their reddish, thin peel, low seed count, and tart flesh. Tangerine oil is especially popular in the U.S. and Brazil. Clementines, once thought to be a mandarin variety, are now recognized as a hybrid of mandarin and sweet orange, first bred in 1902 by Brother Clément in Algeria. They are sweet, mostly seedless, and easy to peel despite a denser rind—and are more commonly found in supermarkets than true mandarins.

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