The SUMOS are here!

 HALLIE EPHRON: It’s February and the SUMO ORANGES are in! You’ve probably seen them in the market. They’re ugly, thick-skinned oranges with a wrinkly peel and an outie navel. Expensive! Go for one that feels dense and solid and heavy. They peel like a tangerine, are fabulously delicious, and worth every penny.

Generally this is the time of year to be eating citrus of any kind, even in New England where they’ve had to travel cross country to get here. The little tangerines are sweeter. Lemons tangy and juicier. Grapefruits which I’m not supposed to eat are sweet/tart and juicy.

Apples, on the other hand, are not having their best month. That’s because they’re coming out of cold storage or from halfway around the world. Tomatoes? The best that can be said of most tomatoes you can get now is that they’re red.

When cherries showed up the other week in my Stop n Shop, I knew better than to buy them. Or blueberries and strawberries that are now available year round but tasteless in the winter. Best to wait until summer when they’re in their season and don’t have to travel so far to get from the farm to your mouth.

Has anyone else out there been enjoying citrus? Sumos? And are there fruits you’re waiting for until they’re in season?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: This is so timely! I just got some watermelon, silly me, what was I thinking? And it was AWFUL. Got to wait for the season. And eating tomatoes in the winter is an exercise in imagination.

I have never tried sumos! I am a big grapefruit fan, and oranges, too, but I rarely eat them.

However! I have been happy with the ENVY apples! So that’s a good thing…

LUCY BURDETTE: Yes, we’re eating the little tangerines. I will look for the sumos.

Luckily for us, John’s been growing tomatoes on our balcony. They are not quite summer New England/New Jersey tomatoes, but light years better than grocery store’s. The only way I’ll eat those is roasted or drowned in chili crunch!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oh, I am crazy for winter citrus! I stalk the store aisles in late November/early December, waiting for the first shipments to come in. Lemons, limes, oranges, tangerines! Mostly I’ve been eating Cara Cara oranges, and an easy peel tangerine every morning with breakfast, but I saw the Sumos in Trader Joe’s and will give them a try.

I don’t buy blueberries in the winter–ugh. If I must have berries for something, raspberries seem to be better. Alas, I am a tomato addict as well as a citrus addict, but I only buy grape and Campari tomatoes off-season, as they seem to taste more or less like tomatoes. 

JENN McKINLAY: My lemon tree has gone bonkers - on deck for cooking I have candied lemon peel, limoncello, lemon curd, dehydrated lemon slices, and lemon pie.



My friend just gave me a bag of oranges and the farmer’s market is jam packed with all the greens a rabbit could want. Oh, and my cherry tomatoes - so sweet they’re like candy.

I will not be fruit deprived until summer when we have to wait for northern states to share their bounty, although I am putting in multiple garden beds and hoping to get some watermelon and strawberries of my own!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Oh, Jenn, I'm so envious right now, but I know it's just a matter of timing. 

Hallie, I just went to Market Basket yesterday and found some sumos in the markdown shelves for only $1.50 per pound! Of course, I'll have to eat them quickly, but that's not exactly a hardship. I also bought a bag of cara cara oranges, because I'm having citrus every night for dessert these days.

I'm a big believer in enjoying what's in season, so I'm cooking with root vegetables, spinach, Kale and cabbage. Fruit is pretty much limited to the great oranges we get shipped up here. (PS, the best apples this time of year are the hard, tart ones like Granny Smith and Cortland.)

HALLIE: What do you wait for and then relish "in season"?