Kinnow
Citrus nobilis × Citrus × deliciosa · Citrus
Top 10 pairings
The kinnow is the workhorse mandarin of the Indian subcontinent — a deep-orange, intensely juicy, heavily seeded hybrid that dominates the citrus orchards of Punjab in both Pakistan and India. Bred in California and adopted wholesale across northern South Asia, it eats tart-sweet and drips with juice, its thin, glossy rind clinging tighter than a satsuma's; it is the fruit that fills winter markets from Lahore to Delhi and the mandarin most exported from the region.
Picking a good onedrag
Heavy, taut, deep orangePuffy, light, drying out
Market freshBuy itThe everyday kinnow: juice, segments, zest for a syrup.
Weight in handStill heavy, the rind just shifting on the flesh
RindOrange and taut, the gloss gone matte
The buttonButton on, browning around its rim
Scratched peelFragrant when rubbed, warmer and sweeter
What you get from one
160 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
Its own store is 5–8 °C: below about 5 °C the thin rind pits and stains brown, and it shows only once the fruit warms up. Most fridges run colder — use the crisper.
90–95%
Humidity
Vented, not sealed
Airflow