Regular readers know that my favorite citrus is the Satsuma and that I constantly look for them when I travel. 99% of them are grown in California and the main market is the US west and Canada. But, some can be found in the South, and I’m in one of those places.
Just north of Mobile on I-65 is the town of Satsuma, and here in nearby Foley is Satsuma street. The Mississippi Delta is another place I’ve found them.
The Satsumas around here are hard to find, confined to roadside fruit stands, and come from hobby trees. They are too fragile to survive much handling or shipping, though California has figured out to do it fairly well. In fact, I found bags here of something from CA called “Citrines” which are certainly a Satsuma but are better suited for shipping.
The lady at the fruit stand near here knows me now, as I come in every couple of days to buy Satsumas. My technique is to fondle the fruit feeling for flat spots, which will be unpleasant in a matter of hours, rotted in 24 hours. I want the perfectly round specimens, and heavy in the hand. While California Satsumas are smooth, the best Southern Satsumas are lumpy, kinda like the doctor is feeling for when searching for prostrate cancer.
Yesterday I went shopping and as I was paying I asked “Is this the last?” and she said yes. The season is over. But I managed to travel 4000 miles to find Satsuma trees at just the right time.