I like them for two reasons: one, they are easy to peel and two, and most important, they are juicy and sweet. I’ve seen them in Wegman’s in New York, Gelson’s in Southern California, Central Markets in Texas and Whole Foods everywhere. Many upscale and natural markets across the U.S.

When they discovered this one particular tree at the UC Riverside Citrus Variety Collection almost a decade ago, they recognized they had a winner. They are family farmers who are passionate about growing. (You can read here more about it here.) During my travels around to different growing areas, I really enjoyed visiting Sumo growers. Sumos have a long history, starting in Japan. I’m guessing that’s where the name originates (very clever, don’t you think?). These fruits have a distinctive “bump” on the top of the orange, almost like the hairstyle of a sumo wrestler. SUMO® Citrus is a cross between a mandarin and a California navel orange. Well, now that Sophia is in college, I purchase citrus fruit for my own palate and I have two new favorites. Sophia has a unique ability to quickly taste if something is “not right” or past its peak, so I became very good at inspecting fruit at the grocery store so I wouldn’t get a rejection at home. She would consume two or three Cuties® a day until they were gone.Īnd, if the quality of the fruit I purchased was not up to par, she let me know it. When my youngest daughter, Sophia, was in high school, each week she insisted that I buy a box of Cuties® Tangerines at my local market.

Cuties orange logo