UC Food Blog
The first commercial crop of an exceptional new mandarin variety created by UC Riverside scientists will be harvested this month.
The fruit, called Tango, is the result of a mutation induced by irradiating budwood of W. Murcott mandarin. The process mimics nature’s manner of improving fruit. Radiation from the sun or natural errors during cell division can cause a single branch or fruit to mutate and develop unique characteristics, which scientists call a “sport.” People have been reproducing favorable sports for generations. In fact, all navel oranges are sports – natural mutations of oranges with seeds or other navel oranges.
W. Murcott mandarins, originally from Morocco, are favored for their deep orange color, easy-peel rind and tangy-sweet flavor. However, when planted within five miles of other seed-bearing citrus – such as Clementine mandarins, lemons or grapefruit – they can be cross-pollinated by bees and become seedy. The Tango maintains the best W. Murcott traits, but because it produces very little viable pollen, it is virtually seedless wherever it is grown.
“This is the most promising mandarin the university has ever produced,” said UC Riverside genetics professor Mikeal Roose.
The Tango mandarin was patented, and registered trees were established by the UC Citrus Clonal Protection Program. Distribution of budwood to citrus nurseries began in June 2006 and was limited exclusively to California growers for one year. Tango was introduced into Florida in 2007 and the trees were available internationally under exclusive licenses in 2009. Tango trees should soon be available to home gardeners through retail nurseries.
In all, 1.6 million Tango trees were sold in California through March 2010.
Tango is not a trademarked name, so the new seedless mandarin will probably be sold under existing grower brand names like Cuties and Delites. Before Christmas, fruit marketed as Cuties and Delites are early ripening Clementine mandarins. Most W. Murcotts and now Tangos will be sold as Cuties and Delites when they ripen in late January, but some Tangos will show up in supermarkets and farmer’s markets under the Tango name.
The Tango was made possible by a UC and citrus industry partnership going back nearly 15 years. Roose and staff research associate Tim Williams began field testing the fruit in 2001. The research and evaluation program was supported by the Citrus Research Board.
“What’s exciting is the parent variety of the Tango is a good piece of fruit,” said Ted Batkin, director of the Citrus Research Board. “It is without a doubt the most widely planted variety that we have released in the past 25 years.”
W. Murcott mandarin (left) and Tango (right).
I don’t know if plant scientists make better chefs, but knowledge of plant science can certainly improve our cooking. Take, for example, understanding how to handle oxidation, the interaction between oxygen molecules and all the many substances they may contact. Oxidation is what makes your fender rust and your copper penny turn green. As it relates to plants, oxidation is what causes fresh-cut produce to turn brown and wine to lose its flavor when left too long in an open bottle.
Perhaps you know how to thwart oxidation when preparing potatoes and serving sliced apples (and if not, we’ll get to that in a minute) but here is a less-common food that often falls victim to oxidation: pesto. Has this happened to you? You gather an armload of picture-perfect basil, blend it together with olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and cheese and produce a fantastic pesto sauce for your spaghetti. Fresh from the blender, it’s as green as your holiday tree. But by the time you serve it an hour later, it’s a dull shade of olive brown and has lost much of its taste. Oxidation strikes again.
Here’s a handy plant-science trick: Blanche your basil. Heat destroys the enzymes that cause oxidation and the resulting discoloration. Drop your fresh basil in a pot of boiling water for a few seconds and then shock it in a bowl of ice water. Dry it completely, proceed with your favorite recipe and your pesto will stay green and tasty for days. Here’s the recipe I like to use:
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup pine nuts (I use walnuts when I don’t have pine nuts)
- 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided (for special treat, try using a UC Davis olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup parmesan or other hard cheese
Combine the basil, garlic and nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
If you’re eating it right away, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese. Yum! If you’re freezing it (up to three months), transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top. Thaw and stir in cheese.
One of the great things about living in California is the year-round farmer's market. Winter brings an array of winter squash, kale and chard, pomegranates, and citrus - including my favorite, the Satsuma mandarins that can be eaten like candy.
And of course, chestnuts. When we make it to the Sunday Sacramento farmer's market, one of my favorite stops is for roasted chestnuts.
Fun as it is to buy freshly roasted chestnuts, you can do it yourself and you don't need an open fire. They're incredibly easy to roast in your oven.
Preheat your oven to 450º and place the oven rack as close to the bottom of the oven as possible.
The next very important step is to cut an "x" into each chestnut to allow steam to escape. You can do this with a regular serrated knife - you don't need a special chestnut knife. Miss this step and you'll have a big exploded chestnut mess in your oven.
Lay the chestnuts in a single layer on a roasting pan, sprinkle with water, and place in the oven. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn them over, and sprinkle with water again.
Roast for another 15 minutes, or until the skin has started to peel back and the inner meat is soft. Take them out of the oven and allow them to cool. Peel and eat them as soon as they are cool enough to handle! The chestnuts are easiest to peel when they're warm.
Chestnuts are highly perishable and need to handled and stored differently from other types of nuts. So if you buy them at the market, plan on roasting them within two days. There is more on storing chestnuts in ANR's free publication Nuts: Safe Methods for Consumers to Handle, Store, and Enjoy.
And if you want to try your hand at growing your own chestnuts - ANR has also published a handy guide to Chestnut Culture in California.
A wonderful example of community coming together in partnership to grow good food has taken root in Oxnard, Calif.
Last year, in an effort to reduce costs while improving the taste and nutrition of meals, the Senior Nutrition Program began growing their own tomatoes. They set up their garden with the help of UC Master Gardeners on a quarter-acre behind the Juvenile Justice Center.
The program began when the County of Ventura Area Agency on Aging, which serves over 200,000 meals annually through senior nutrition programs, collaborated with the Probation Agency Juvenile Justice Facility staff to create this positive program. As word of the project has spread many business and organizations have come forward to donate time, expertise and resources.
A year later, the garden has grown to two acres. Fifty fruit tress and a wider assortment of vegetables have been added. Ventura County Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners teach incarcerated youth gardening skills. Senior volunteers work alongside youths, mentoring while tending the garden. All produce grown at the garden is used to feed seniors through senior meal programs and local food banks.
This project, as well as others like it, take time, effort and dedication to get started; however, the positive benefits come back many times over. Looking to start a similar project in your community? Contact your local Cooperative Extension office for resources in your area. Or check out UC ANR publications that can help you and your group. Some are available free and others may be purchased online.
There are many good reasons to wash hands:
- Pathogen spread – from yourself, from others, from one contaminated food to another (meats, produce, etc.)
- Chemical spread – whatever chemicals are on your hands can go directly into the food being prepared. This can include pesticides, hand sanitizers (ick), cleaning products, hand lotions, etc.
- The ick factor – “Ick, what’s that slime on your hands and do I really want that in my food?”
The most memorable item I learned about hand-washing is that we need to wash for at least 20 seconds — the time it takes to sing the entire “happy birthday song” twice (and slowly). Watch anyone in any kitchen or public bathroom, and very few come close to washing for that long.
It’s human nature to think that our own hands are cleaner than everyone else’s, and that maybe we ourselves have less need to wash our own hands before preparing food for others. Well, everyone benefits if we all wash our hands well before cooking or eating.
Many years ago I got giardia, which laid me out for weeks, and my doctor and I determined that I probably got it from a food-service worker who did not wash hands properly. A big “ick.” It was a real wake-up call about the need for hand-washing.
So, if you hear me singing the happy birthday song while washing my hands in the kitchen, you can be thankful for my commitment to good hygiene.
Guidelines for hand-washing
- Wet your hands with clean running water
- Apply liquid, bar, or powder soap
- Lather well
- Rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails
- Rinse well
- Dry your hands with a CLEAN or disposable towel or air dryer
- If possible, use your towel to turn off the faucet
(Information on hand-washing and using hand sanitizers can be found at the information sources below.)
Information sources for handwashing
- The Mayo Clinic
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- CDC downloadable poster
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- WHO downloadable poster
Lastly, while we’re addressing kitchen sanitation, please use a clean tasting spoon each time you sample what you are cooking. It’s a really big ICK to taste from the stirring spoon, then put it back into the food. It’s also a way to spread germs, especially in uncooked foods. Yes, cooking may sanitize the spoon, but people still don’t want to eat other people's saliva, sterile or not.
Happy holidays, and stay clean and healthy!
UPDATE (Dec. 15, 2010): A new press release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1 in 6 people get sick from foodborne illnesses each year. The CDC also reports that keeping hands clean is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of infection and illness.