Sunburst's tangerines name comes from the sun shape on the stem end. Each oblate fruit is around two and a half to three inches in diameter with a flattened stem end. The skin is brilliant dark orange, smooth, and fairly thin, and like most tangerines, easy to remove. The flesh has few seeds and a lot of juice, and tastes intensely sweet with some acid.
Sunburst tangerines are available in the late fall and winter months.
The Sunburst is one of the most popular varieties of tangerine (Citrus reticulata Blanco). The first Sunburst was produced in 1961 from a cross of the citrus hybrids Robinson and Osceola, although it wasn't released commercially until 1979. Tangerines are members of the mandarin family, along with clementines, tangelos, and mineolas. Tangerines have been bred over the years to be sweet and easy to peel, and the Sunburst is no exception.
