Your daily dose of Vitamin C is waiting for you at the farmers’ market as we begin the New Year on a healthy note. The citrus family is an intriguing one and now is your chance to sample and select the smallest kumquat to the biggest pomelo and everything in between. Treat yourself to freshly squeezed blood orange or tangerine juice!

The Cara Cara navel orange is a favorite – its beautiful reddish pink interior bursts with sweet flavor and few or no seeds. It’s quite easy to peel, lower in acid than other oranges and very aromatic. The juice of a Cara Cara is particularly delicious when squeezed into a vinaigrette salad dressing.

Mandarins are another type of citrus that offer all sorts of sizes and flavors, but their “zipper skins” and easy-to-divide segments are the extra bonus. Tangerines (a mandarin and bitter orange hybrid), tangelos (a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit) and tangors (a cross between a tangerine and sweet orange) are all mandarins. Some of the most popular with market shoppers are the seedless Satsumas and sweet Fairchild tangerine.

Pomelos are large – very large. They look like overgrown grapefruit and are in fact the grapefruit’s ancestor, ranging from cantaloupe size to the 3 to 4 pounders. Along with tangerines and oranges, pomelos enjoy some notoriety during Chinese New Year celebrations – this Year of the Dragon begins on January 23. The Chinese eat pomelos and tangerines for good luck.

The thick and puffy easy-to-peel rind on a pomelo varies from yellow to a pinkish color and may even show hints of green. The light colored pulp is generally drier and less acidic tasting than grapefruit so a sprinkle of sugar helps to bring out the juice.

The Oro Blanco grapefruits are ripe and ready to eat. Meaning “white gold” in Spanish, the Oro Blancos are a cross between a white grapefruit and the acidless pomelo. The skin is greenish yellow, the flesh pale yellow and the taste sweet and delicious. Pick out the heaviest fruits for the most juice and serve at room temperature for optimum flavor.

Blood oranges (Moro oranges) are at their best this month. The rind may show some red blush but the inside is unmistakably red – a beautiful deep red. The sweet flavor of the blood oranges also hints of raspberry and are best eaten fresh or in salads, salsas and jellies.

There’s always lots of buzz around the Meyer lemon display. Lemon lovers appreciate their fragrant aroma and mild sweet flavor. But a word of caution when cooking with Meyer lemons – their fragrant aroma is quickly lost when paired with strong flavors or overheated. Lisbon and Eureke lemons pack more punch than the low acid Meyers.

One of the most unusual looking fruits at the market is Buddha’s Hand Citron. This knarly, many fingered citrus is all pith and zest – literally no juice. It’s so fragrant it can be used as an air freshener, and is often used to flavor lemon liquors. The inner white pith is not as bitter as most citrus so it can be sliced lengthwise and eaten as is, candied or try grating some over chicken dishes or salads.

Enjoy and see you at the market!