How to harvest the perfect citrus fruit depending on the variety | Citrus | Gardening Australia

Costa is visiting the Melbourne suburb of Northcote, to explore the laneways and backyards where trees are brimming with a favourite group of fruit to grow, citrus! Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe
Costa meets up with fruit expert or ‘fruiterer’, Thanh Truong, who has become a social media star through his informative videos and education under his moniker, ‘The Fruit Nerd’.

Thanh is here to share some of his tips for picking the perfect citrus fruit with Costa. ‘Timing is important with all fruits, and especially with citrus because although when you harvest a citrus it might colour up, it doesn’t mature or ripen after you harvest it.’

Picking it at the right time is going to give you the best eating experience. Each variety of citrus has a few different rules, depending on whether you are eating the fruit or skin, and the level of sweetness you are after.

ORANGES:
TIP: Touch Picking
Mature oranges will have smooth skin, while ones that are immature will be more rough to the touch.
The best way to know when to pick your orange is to use what is called ‘touch picking’. Squeeze the orange while it is still on the tree, ones that are more mature will have ‘give’ or soft suppleness. Hard oranges have not developed enough sweetness, and will be dry (called ‘granulation’). When the orange expands and becomes mature the skin thins out a bit to create a softer touch.

LIMES:
TIP: Limes can, and should, be yellow!
Don’t be fooled by the grass-green limes you are used to seeing instore.
Retailers sell bright green limes to play into our expectations of their colour, and also because underripe fruit ships easier and lasts longer instore.
The ideal lime from your backyard tree is a pale yellow-green colour, which indicates ripeness and increased sugar levels. These will be much easier to squeeze and have heaps more juice in them.

IMPERIAL MANDARIN:
TIP: Orange or green?
Mandarins don’t have to be fully orange on the skin to be ready. The citrus industry doses them with a natural hormone to encourage consistent colouring. Thanh insists this isn’t necessary, ‘don’t you love the beauty of that little green blush? It’s how nature presents it, and I hope everyone with a mandarin tree in their backyard understands that.’

CUMQUAT:
TIP: Kumquat skin should be fully orange to be fully sweet
‘Cumquats are rebels, all other citrus you don’t need the skin to be fully coloured, but for a cumquat because the skin is so sweet you need it to be fully coloured up before you eat it.’
Kumquats are enjoyed for their delicious skin, which is candied, made into marmalade, or eaten raw by Thanh. Because you are consuming the skin, you want to pick fruit that is fully orange, with no spots of green.
This is contrary to oranges, where you don’t eat the skin, so think about what you are consuming from the fruit to guide whether you are prioritising the taste of the skin or the fruit.

Now that you have picked them, store them in the fridge in the crisper drawer, not in plastic bags. They should last a couple of weeks, depending on the thickness of the skin. But to take advantage of the freshness, try to squeeze or use them as soon as you can after picking them. Or try making preserved citrus and marmalade. Remember, you can always share with your abundance with friends and community—they’ll thank you for it!

Featured Plants:
ORANGE ‘VALENCIA’ - Citrus cv. 
LIME ‘TAHITIAN’ - Citrus cv. 
MANDARIN - Citrus cv. 
CUMQUAT ‘MARUMI’ - Citrus cv. 
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