History

The clementine is a North African variety of citrus that many researchers believe originated as an accident: an unintended hybrid of mandarin seedlings planted by a priest in an Algerian orphanage garden. After a long period of cultivation, botanists began to use the unique characteristics of the sweet, thin-skinned clementine to make further hybrids; the variety was used to create the Clement tangelo and to thin the skins of some mandarin varieties.

Nutrition

Tailor-made for a nutritionally-conscious snacker with a sweet tooth, clementines provide a good source of antioxidants, vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. A typical clementine contains around 50 calories. Consuming the peel adds to this already-sterling nutritional profile. The inside of a clementine contains fiber, and consuming some or all of the peel significantly increases the fiber quotient.

Choosing a Clementine

As a rule, the smaller a clementine, the sweeter you can expect it to be. When buying clementines, look for bright, shiny, brilliant orange fruit with a distinct, unmusty citrus scent. The fruit should be firm to squeeze, but with a slight give, which evidences the fruit's juiciness. If you are planning to eat the peel, purchase organic clementines. The peels of nonorganic fruit often are coated in agricultural chemicals.

Other Uses

If you try eating a clementine with the peel and find the taste and texture to be unpleasantly intense, save the peels regardless. Clementine peels are useful for a number of different applications, both culinary and nonculinary. Savvy cooks use candied peels as a snack or dessert garnish. Peels also can be dried to use in tea, added to poultry dishes, infused in liquor or used to flavor water. The flammable, fragrant essential oils in clementine peels make them an excellent choice for kindling. The peels also soften, scent and de-clump brown sugar when they're mixed into it for storage.