Honeybell Season started!!!!

Its Honeybell season again...

Or as my friends know, I say that in about a 48 point font screaming like Dewey Wins in that old Truman Picture from the 50s...

ITS HONEYBELL SEASON!!!!!

I managed to go out on New Years and do some shopping down in Davie/Dania at the Nurseries down there.  One of them is a great Old Florida piece of Kitsch.   They sell mostly Citrus.  Citrus Trees, "A" Fruit, "B" Fruit and Pies.   Wonderful place.   They have a relic of a stand out front of the place that looks like a giant orange that you can stand inside, or at least you could if you were selling orange juice because I have been told that is what it is for at a festival.

More about HONEYBELL SEASON!!!!

Honeybells are a special kind of orange that come into season here in very late December and only last until late February.  I could be a little generous with the dates, the season could be a bit shorter.  One of the first things I bought when I got the house was a proper Honeybell Tree.   It gave me four oranges last year.  Oh Boy.   This year it has about a dozen on it, but hey, I can walk outside in about a month and pick my own oranges and have a truly wonderful snack. If you read this LINK you will see that they're a hybrid of the Tangelo, and the Minneola or Cushman Honeybell is the one to look for.  In fact, Cushman will ship you Honeybells at $2 a pop this year of Gift Quality Fruit.  I've had them, they're wonderful and that is why the company that created the fruit got bought up by Harry And David's, in most higher end malls near you...

The Honeybell orange is sweeter than whatever it is you get up north in your local markets.  They also are a bit softer due to the flesh having a higher water content than the typical navel or valencia.   When I was a snowbird, I'd go to this particular roadside nursery and get a half bushel for the vacation, and then get another one on the way back.   My sister was the beneficiary of this gift and she can tell you that these are a different flavor than what you will find in your typical orange.  Simply an amazing fruit, but horribly sloppy to eat.

Now that they're chilled, I'm going to have some fresh squeezed honeybell juice, and boy will I enjoy them.

Sorry, Pat, if you want some you're going to have to hunt.   The closest thing I found to a honeybell is a Tangelo.   They are good, but up north they're just not the same.   Smaller, dryer, and not quite a sweet.   The Tangelo is a "Typical Orange" in size.  A proper Honeybell is about the size of a Grapefruit.   They can be about 1/2 pound as well, or about 250g.   That's rather a lot for a single fruit.

And I have a half bushel in my refrigerator!