When it comes to finding farm-fresh citrus, most people think of Florida or California's San Joaquin Valley. But the Sierra foothills are home to the crème de la crème of citrus: the mountain mandarin.

The mandarin is a true citrus experience. It has a sweet and tangy scent, is seedless, convenient to eat and healthy. No utensils are needed as you peel back the rind to reveal a fruit that Mother Nature has split into even segments. None of the juice squirts all over you, either.

Mountain mandarins (a variety known as Owari Satsuma) are one of the "super" foods – very high in vitamin C. They also contain significant amounts of synephrine, a natural product that can help relieve cold symptoms.

"Mountain mandarins are a unique crop that combines delicious flavor with easy peeling," says Josh Huntsinger, Placer County's agricultural commissioner. "Their higher-elevation growing conditions contribute to a level of flavor and sweetness that can't be matched by Valley-grown fruit."

The dozens of orchards in Placer County – first planted in the 1880s by Welsh settlers – are spread throughout rural Auburn, Newcastle, Penryn, Loomis and Lincoln. More than 30 growers in the county form the Mountain Mandarin Growers' Association. During harvest season, you can visit their orchards, buy a bag of freshly picked mandarins and meet the farmers.

A few mandarin growers are in neighboring counties, such as Johansen Ranch in Orland, now celebrating 100 years as a family farm.

Each year the harvest season begins in November and continues through January. Long hours are spent hand-snipping each stem to bring in the first crop of the season. The satsuma mandarins grown in the foothills originated in Japan more than 700 years ago. They were planted in the region because of their cold-hardiness compared with other sweet citrus.

Mandarins, along with pears, plums and peaches, led to fruit packing facilities that made Placer County famous as a fruit-growing region.

Examples include the historic Blue Goose fruit shed in Loomis, now home to popular events such as an annual gathering of cowboy poets.

In the 1950s, farmers such as Frank Aguilar, Edmund Pilz and Frank Madison planted mandarin trees in the region. Their gift-boxed mandarins soon became popular with friends and family across the country.

The new generation of citrus farmers includes Steve and Lisa Pilz of Pilz Produce at Hillcrest in Penryn.

"I didn't want that lifestyle to be lost," said Steve Pilz, who acquired the orchards from his grandfather in the 1980s.

Mandarin Festival

What: The 18th annual festival, the biggest of its kind, is expected to attract 25,000 visitors. Growers will bring thousands of the familiar 10-pound orange-mesh bags of the fruit. Food vendors will serve mandarin- infused drinks, salads and grilled meats. More than 150 booths offer craft items for holiday giving.

When: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday

Where: Gold Country Fairgrounds, 1273 High St., Auburn

Cost: Admission is $2 on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, it's $6 general admission, $4 for senior citizens, free to children 12 and younger. Parking is $5.

Information: (916) 663-1918, www.mandarinfestival.comAll recipes are courtesy of Richard and Ann Shelby of Ann's Orchard in Lincoln, www.annsorchard.com. Ann Shelby recommends adding fennel seed and slices of mandarin to salads to punch up the flavor, and adding mandarin zest to muffins.

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Jeff Pelline is the editor and publisher of Sierra FoodWineArt, a free quarterly magazine that circulates in the region, and its companion website www.SierraCulture.com. His blog is part of Sacramento Connect, The Bee's network of local blogs and community news providers.

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