Grown in warm weather climates across the globe, tangerines are a bit more cold-weather tolerant, compared with larger varieties of sweet oranges. However, while all tangerines are mandarins, not all mandarins are tangerines. In the United States, tangerines are often called mandarins. They’re named because they were exported by traveling through the port of Tangier in Morocco.

Tangerines ( Citrus tangerina) are thought to be native to Southeast Asia ( 3). Tangerines and clementines have a similar appearance, so it’s easy to get them confused or think they’re one and the same. They share many of the same characteristics as other mandarins, such as a smaller size compared with navel oranges, few to no seeds, a sweet flavor, and a thin, soft skin that’s very easy to peel ( 2). They’re the second largest cultivated group of citrus fruit after sweet oranges, which include larger sized varieties like navel and blood oranges ( 1). While these results have yet to be confirmed in human studies, the University of Maryland Medical Center reports that the flavonoids in citrus fruit may also inhibit cancer growth, blood clots and inflammation.Tangerines and clementines are both hybrids of the small-sized mandarin. Another study, published in 'The Journal of Nutrition,' found that mice fed a diet supplemented with hesperidin had lower cholesterol and greater bone density than mice not fed hesperidin. The scientists involved in the study hypothesized that these benefits may be due to the high concentration of flavonoids in citrus fruit.

In 2003, research conducted by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization indicated that people with a high intake of citrus-rich fruit - defined as an extra citrus serving daily, in addition to the recommended five servings of daily fruit - were 50 percent less likely to develop mouth, stomach or throat cancer and 20 percent less likely to suffer from a stroke.

Both are flavonoids, plant-based chemicals that can prevent DNA damage by inhibiting the activity of free radicals. Hesperidin and naringenin are antioxidant compounds found only in citrus fruit like Cuties.

Cuties organic mandarins