The Chime Is Right For This Belle

When Peter Chaires of the New Varieties Management & Development Corp. stopped by the office the other day with a bag of oranges, we knew we were in for a treat. You see, what he was dropping off was the first University of Florida-created citrus variety meant for commercial production --- aka the Sugar Belle. The news about this cultivar broke a couple months back. Now, we were about to get our sneak preview. One of the perks of being an ag editor.

The Sugar Belle is a Mandarin orange hybrid that is made up of a cross between a sweet clementine and the Minneola. The bell-shaped beauty was bred to be high in flavor and low in seeds. An early maturing fruit, this orange also is suited for winter-holiday marketing purposes.

OK, enough background info, let the peeling begin --- which I must say, was easy. As the skin was peeled back, a very strong aroma of the fruit's citrus oil began to permeate. My colleague commented how he could smell the orange half-way across the office. It was pretty potent. So was the taste going to match the Sugar Belle's aromatic prowess?

I would describe my culinary experience as quite juicy and flavorful. The sweetness was a high note for me. I wouldn't call it "sugary sweet," but it was definitely satisfying. The stringiness was minimal on the flesh and I only found one small seed in the fruit.

Overall, I can honestly say Sugar Belle met my expectations as well as the ones built up by my co-workers since learning about it. We'll have to see if the Sugar Belle rings true when it hits the stands. I know I'll be looking for it when it does.