All 12 chapters on one page, in order. Read straight through, or jump to a chapter below.
Read one chapter at a time
Peels in one piece, almost always seedless.
Two give roughly a day's vitamin C.
Sweeter and less acidic than an orange.
The easiest citrus to eat: peels with a thumb, no seeds, and two cover most of a day's vitamin C.
Known to botanists as Citrus × clementina.
The healthiest food is the one people actually eat. A clementine removes every obstacle — no knife, no mess, no seeds — which is why it quietly does more for daily fruit intake than fruits with better numbers.
No knife, no strength in the hands needed, no seeds to choke on. For older adults, a clementine is one of the most accessible fresh foods there is.
It was used: easy vitamin C with no preparation. Hesperidin, a flavonoid (a family of protective plant compounds) studied for blood vessels. Water and fibre in a small, portable package.
A clementine is a small, slightly flattened orange fruit with a glossy deep-orange skin that lifts away in one piece. It is a cross between a mandarin and a sweet orange. Most clementines have no seeds at all, which is the whole reason they became popular.
Family: Rutaceae (citrus family).
Persian temperament: Cold & Moist (1st degree). Cooling like all sweet citrus, though gentler than an orange because the acid is lower.
Persian medicine treats sweet mandarins as cool and moist, gentler than the sour citrus. They were given to lift a poor appetite, to ease a dry cough, and to cool a heated body in a mild way that suited children and older people.
Dried peel used as a warming digestive in traditional practice — the peel.
In Iran, winter is mandarin season. Bowls sit out through the cold months, peel is dropped on the top of a heater so the room smells of citrus, and the fruit is handed round while tea is poured.
Primary compounds
Beta-cryptoxanthin; limonene.
Other notable constituents
Minerals: Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium · Antioxidants: Naringenin · Fiber: ~1.3 g per fruit
Strong evidence
Vitamin C intake supports normal immune cell function. Deficiency impairs it.Strong evidence
Whole fruit intake, unlike fruit juice, is associated with lower type 2 diabetes risk.Strong evidence
Moderate evidence
Higher citrus fruit intake is associated with lower stroke risk in large prospective cohorts.Moderate evidence
Peel with a thumb from the stem end.
Warm briefly in a hand before peeling if the skin is cold and tight.
Segments dried slowly in a low oven keep as a sweet.
In the kitchen: fresh, peeled by hand; segments dropped into plain yogurt.
Juiced with a little rose water for a winter drink.
Keep a bowl where people walk past; they disappear.
Pack two in a bag instead of a snack bar.
Peel segments over yogurt or a winter salad.
Walnut
Segments and walnuts on the same plate, which is the standard winter after-dinner offering in a Persian house.
Pomegranate
Scatter the seeds over the segments. Two winter fruits, one bowl, no preparation worth the name.
Fennel
Sliced raw fennel and clementine segments make a salad that cuts through a heavy meal.
Dark Chocolate
Everyone already knows this works. Two squares and three segments.
Easy to eat five without noticing — the sugar adds up.
Wash unwaxed peel before drying it for tea.
Rare citrus allergy.
Sensitive stomachs may find several at once too acidic.
Statins (cholesterol-lowering medicines) metabolised by CYP3A4 — Clementine isn't grapefruit and doesn't carry the same enzyme block. Ordinary eating isn't a concern. (low concern)
Warfarin — Vitamin K content is low, but steady intake is still easier to manage than a sudden month of eating six a day. (low concern)
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
One of the better fruits in pregnancy: folate, vitamin C, water, and it stays down when other things don't. Many people find cold citrus one of the few things that helps early nausea.
Children
The fruit a child can open alone, which is most of why it's in the house. No seeds to worry about, though the peel is a choking risk for a toddler left with a whole one. Three or four in a sitting will loosen a small stomach.
Older adults
Peels with a thumb, needs no knife, and doesn't fight arthritic hands. For anyone who has quietly stopped eating fruit because preparing it became work, clementines are the fruit to keep in the bowl.
Spring
The last boxes are dry and the segments separate badly. Time to stop.
Summer
Out of season entirely. What is on sale has travelled from another hemisphere.
Autumn
The first fruit comes in from the northern groves, still green-shouldered and sharp.
Winter
The whole point of the fruit. A bowl on the table from December through February.
Are the white strands worth eating?
Yes. They carry fibre and flavonoids.
Can someone with diabetes eat them?
One or two is a modest portion. Quantity is the usual problem.
End of the Clementine guide