Oranges at Raeward

[Super_BQ]

I just wanted to say that i'm very impressed with the selection of oranges at Raeward Orchard (Christchurch). For the 1st time I seen and bought their "Japanese Mandarin" oranges at $8.99/kg. Yes they are very expensive but.. they're the BEST. For some reason, I don't find locally NZ grown citrus fruit to be of any quality. The California oranges tasted sweeter than the NZ gown ones. Actually a person working in analyzing the seeds of produce plants for NZ climate told me that NZ isn't a great place to grow citrus fruits - it's not hot enough for a long duration of the year. At least it keeps him busy at the company he works for is responsible for separating strains of certain seeds optimised for growth in NZ climates.

You know, I often wonder why places like Countdown, Fresh Choice, and Pak N Save don't stock such varieties? Funky Pumpkin also sells the same low budget NZ varieties but anything top grade is non-existent.

BQ

[Fern01]

We have a tree of Richard's special mandarins, ready in early Autumn and Encore, ready in Summer, the taste is there, the only problem we have is the frosts that can come late during the flowering. However that may change with the way the summer has cooled compared to years ago.

[RJLink]

Interesting, because I have the opposite opinion of BQ's. I find the oranges (and their kin) grown in NZ to be uniformly excellent. (Except the grapefruits.) Buying citrus in the US is very hit-and-miss. Here I'm never disappointed.

[Should also mention that I frequently buy organic, and otherwise from farmers markets.]

[Fern01]

Gisborne is the place to grow citrus.

[KatieBen]

I find it's the apples that are more hit and miss than the citrus - the ones around at the moment seem to be going brown inside and at least one is rotten in every bag. Citrus (so far) has been great, especially tangeloes.

Mostly we try to buy locally grown stuff but I might resort to imported if the quality is significantly better - till we get our own trees planted.

[Gran]

NZ oranges are yummy, especially the Keri Keri ones, the apples are at the very end of their season, there are only stored ones available now and we dont have imports to replace them, never mind, the new seasons apples are due in autumn, in the meantime enjoy the soft fruit while you can, take the children to a pick your own strawberry place, watch them fill up!!! (Their buckets I mean of course)The grapefruit are horrible, I think they are a cross between an orange and a lemon, make nice marmalade though.
Gran

[Super_BQ]

Buying citrus in the US is very hit-and-miss. Here I'm never disappointed.

Keep in mind that 'export quality' is a standard recognised world wide. All the US imported citrus i've seen appear to be top quality. The same applies to almost all other products. When I grew up in Canada, my friend at the plywood plant told me that export quality is by far a world of different quality to the domestic. Yet I thought houses were constructed with top grade wood (being so plentiful) in fact, we built them with the scraps; the best gets exported. I recall the kiwifruits sold in BC, Canada were far better grade than the local ones you buy in NZ.

It's hard to get the best of both seasons. When it's winter in NZ, where can you look for top quality oranges and apples? Look to the northern hemisphere.

[RJLink]

That's interesting about the domestic vs. export quality on fruit. With any kind of produce I am rarely disappointed if I buy something that's locally grown and in season. I guess it's no surprise that just about every orange (organic or otherwise) I bought in Washington DC was a failure. Fantastic apples year-round in Western New York - New Zealand doesn't seem to be all that great for apples.

[Gran]

I get the impression that we do not export oranges they dont seem to last very well, but yes we do export the best fruit and are left with the rest, just sometimes, with luck you may see some lovely apples that were to big, or maybe too tall to go into those export trays then you can have a nice feed. As I said, pick your own is a good option.