Comments on: The Simple Dollar Time Machine: December 4, 2010 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/04/the-simple-dollar-time-machine-december-4-2010/ Financial talk for the rest of us Sat, 16 Feb 2013 01:14:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: valleycat1 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/04/the-simple-dollar-time-machine-december-4-2010/#comment-932139 valleycat1 Sat, 04 Dec 2010 16:41:54 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=6328#comment-932139 Re Oranges cheaper in winter – Actually, the reason they’re cheaper is that winter is when they are ready to be picked and packed; they have to come off the trees then so the growers can get the trees ready for next year’s crop. So not only is there a plentiful supply all at once, but the storage costs haven’t started piling up. [That's also why citrus tastes better in December or straight off the tree - commercial storage over time will deteriorate the flavor.]

Most American-grown oranges you buy during the year were probably picked in December, possibly January. Good fresh citrus will keep a long time in the fridge (not the freezer). The fruit actually needs a little bit of cold to push the sugar content up (either on the tree or after picked).

If you find a great sale price on California citrus in the Fall, they’re clearing out the prior year’s stored fruit & it probably won’t taste as good.

We grow tangerines which are picked in March or early April; we have a number of citrus varieties in our yard for personal use – just started picking some varieties – others mature at different times during the next few months. Beyond a point, the fruit starts drying up or dropping from the tree, so you have to pick them or lose them. The only thing we’ve found that hold pretty well on the tree for months are grapefruit.

]]>