Post by josue on Nov 12, 2020 11:56:36 GMT -5
My friend and I had the opportunity to visit Stan Mckenzie at McKenzie Farms last week, and sample many of his hardy citrus which is grown in zone 8a in SC. We sampled all of them with 4 people, and took notes to see what people tasted as far as after tastes and sweet/sour/bitter. Of course taste is very subjective, but there were several cold hardy winners we all agreed on. Our favorites were: citsuma prague, owari satsuma, thomasville citrangequat, taiwanica lemon, and 10 degree tangerine. These all had good flavor without the aftertastes you get from poncirus.
Out of the ones with noticeable poncirus taste, our favorites were: morton citrange, dunstan citrumelo, and carolina lime. It was a very cool experience to meet Stan, and try so many rare items including the japanese raison tree. I highly recommend visiting if you get the chance.
I'm growing several varieties outdoors in Raleigh NC 7b. The only protection they get is being planted on the south side of my home.
yuzu has been through 5 nc winters, and the others have been through 3 so far. The prague has had no die back, some of the others have had small amounts. The yuzu has had the most die back, but grows back pretty aggressively in the spring.
Yuzu, thomasville citrangequat, 10 degree, prague, changsha, nippon
I'm having trouble sharing photos, but I can share our thoughts on what we tried from Stan's farm.
changsha seedless: very low bitterness, and no off flavor; however, very low flavor over all. This was a seedless version.
citremon: Not very juicy; not as harsh after taste as some of the poncirus
citranderine 852: Quite bitter with a lot of poncirus taste/smell
dunstan citrumelo: We sampled several of these, the first two were not bad for fresh eating if you like grape fruit, but the 3rd had very high poncirus taste/smell. Its possible ripeness was a factor. This was our favorite out of the 3 citrumelo's here.
swingle citrumelo: Fairly bitter with a lot of poncirus taste/smell
sacaton citrumelo: Quite bitter with a lot of poncirus smell/taste. Least favorite of the citrumelos i've tried
citsuma prague: The taste is just as good as a commercial in zone satsuma. No bitterness and no poncirus taste/oil/smells.
owari satsuma: Very good tasting satsuma. Tastes as good as one grown in zone, and significantly better than what I can buy locally.
10 degree tangerine 2-2? It tasted like a tangerine, but not as flavorful as I like, but it was better than the citrus we can buy in the stores here in nc.
benton citrange: Fairly bitter with strong poncirus taste
morton citrange: Low bitterness, and noticeable poncirus taste/smell, but one of the better tasting poncirus crosses. Much better than Benton
carolina lime: unspecified Poncirus cross from Germany. Some bitterness and poncirus taste, but very limy, and bright green flesh
taiwanica lemon: technically a sour orange (Nansho Daidai) Very low bitterness and none of the off flavors you get with poncirus crosses. Very sour, with little sweetness. Very interesting aroma and flavor and could definitely have some culinary potential. I really want to add this to my collection
thomasville citrangequat: No bitterness and no poncirus taste/smell. Tastes a lot like lime and could definitely be used for cocktails or culinary purposes.
Out of my in ground citrus in Raleigh NC, these two have fruited.
nippon orangequat: Mine haven't ripened fully, so when I eat them the skin is still not sweet. I've primarily used them like a lemon on fish. To me, it tastes like a sour mandarin. Slightly different from a normal kumquat.
yuzu: Very aromatic with a unique flavor. Tastes great in many sweet/savory uses. Its primarily used for the zest, but the little juice it has is good quality.
Would love to hear other people's thoughts on tastes/usefulness of various hardy citrus including any that aren't posted here.
Out of the ones with noticeable poncirus taste, our favorites were: morton citrange, dunstan citrumelo, and carolina lime. It was a very cool experience to meet Stan, and try so many rare items including the japanese raison tree. I highly recommend visiting if you get the chance.
I'm growing several varieties outdoors in Raleigh NC 7b. The only protection they get is being planted on the south side of my home.
yuzu has been through 5 nc winters, and the others have been through 3 so far. The prague has had no die back, some of the others have had small amounts. The yuzu has had the most die back, but grows back pretty aggressively in the spring.
Yuzu, thomasville citrangequat, 10 degree, prague, changsha, nippon
I'm having trouble sharing photos, but I can share our thoughts on what we tried from Stan's farm.
changsha seedless: very low bitterness, and no off flavor; however, very low flavor over all. This was a seedless version.
citremon: Not very juicy; not as harsh after taste as some of the poncirus
citranderine 852: Quite bitter with a lot of poncirus taste/smell
dunstan citrumelo: We sampled several of these, the first two were not bad for fresh eating if you like grape fruit, but the 3rd had very high poncirus taste/smell. Its possible ripeness was a factor. This was our favorite out of the 3 citrumelo's here.
swingle citrumelo: Fairly bitter with a lot of poncirus taste/smell
sacaton citrumelo: Quite bitter with a lot of poncirus smell/taste. Least favorite of the citrumelos i've tried
citsuma prague: The taste is just as good as a commercial in zone satsuma. No bitterness and no poncirus taste/oil/smells.
owari satsuma: Very good tasting satsuma. Tastes as good as one grown in zone, and significantly better than what I can buy locally.
10 degree tangerine 2-2? It tasted like a tangerine, but not as flavorful as I like, but it was better than the citrus we can buy in the stores here in nc.
benton citrange: Fairly bitter with strong poncirus taste
morton citrange: Low bitterness, and noticeable poncirus taste/smell, but one of the better tasting poncirus crosses. Much better than Benton
carolina lime: unspecified Poncirus cross from Germany. Some bitterness and poncirus taste, but very limy, and bright green flesh
taiwanica lemon: technically a sour orange (Nansho Daidai) Very low bitterness and none of the off flavors you get with poncirus crosses. Very sour, with little sweetness. Very interesting aroma and flavor and could definitely have some culinary potential. I really want to add this to my collection
thomasville citrangequat: No bitterness and no poncirus taste/smell. Tastes a lot like lime and could definitely be used for cocktails or culinary purposes.
Out of my in ground citrus in Raleigh NC, these two have fruited.
nippon orangequat: Mine haven't ripened fully, so when I eat them the skin is still not sweet. I've primarily used them like a lemon on fish. To me, it tastes like a sour mandarin. Slightly different from a normal kumquat.
yuzu: Very aromatic with a unique flavor. Tastes great in many sweet/savory uses. Its primarily used for the zest, but the little juice it has is good quality.
Would love to hear other people's thoughts on tastes/usefulness of various hardy citrus including any that aren't posted here.