Ruby Clementine 'Rubino', Taste test. February 2024

[@lyonheart84]

What a fabulous colour fruit Dom, a great success to get them to that stage of ripeness here and even better that you've got the grafts to take. A couple of possibly useful pointers. I've also had citrus with excessively thick rinds in proportion to the amount of flesh and size of the fruit. This appears to be caused by a variety of factors including, taking too long to develop to maturity, a direct effect of our cooler climate and setting fruit at the 'wrong' time of the year, a shortage of certain nutrients / trace elements and the immaturity of the plant developing the fruit. Inconsistent water supply at the wrong time will also 'stunt' the fruit. You will often hear it quoted ( by professional and experienced citrus growers ) that many citrus need cooler weather to trigger ripening of the fruits and to aid the development of sugars in the fruits, however they are talking about periods of 10c to 12c that they experience in Winter in the Mediterranean , Florida and California citrus groves NOT the -1c to 4c that we experience for longish periods in Winter. Below about 5c citrus are almost completely dormant which means the plants are not pushing fluids and sugars into the fruits. Thats why my citrus fruits that drop in winter can look ripe but often have very 'dry' flesh inside. I am hoping that keeping my citrus a couple of degrees warmer in my summerhouse will make a difference to any fruits my plants are holding 🤞

[@MoebiusUK]

Brett, tbh I think some varieties are just characterised by thicker rinds. I was totally expecting it with the Rubino as I have seen several videos on KZbin of this variety, including taste tests, from around the world. As this is a Sicillian variety, I'm sure the quality of this citrus will improve if the plant gets some warmer weather, it's been pretty cool this year here in London. The berry-like flavour was there, it had some sweetness, however the flesh-to-rind ratio could have been better. I think, if we get some decent temps this year into next winter it will help. All-in-all, I'm quite happy considering this was the first fruit from this plant.

[@НатальяПлескач-й5ч]

Шикарно выглядит и клементин, и его плоды! 🍊🍊 Спасибо за видео 🙏

[@MoebiusUK]

Большое спасибо. Это замечательный сорт для более холодного климата, например, в Великобритании.

[@PeterEntwistle]

Your tree is looking very healthy! And wow those fruits are incredibly dark red inside, you can easily see why it gets the name 'Ruby Clementine'. It looks just like a mini Moro blood orange inside. Also, it's great to see that it can be grafted onto poncirus, your graft is looking incredibly healthy. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@MoebiusUK]

Thanks, Peter. Yes, its wonderful that it can be easily grafted onto Poncirus. I think pretty much every chip bud graft took, which is remarkable. I'm excited to see how this plant progresses this year, I would love to see it covered in flowers and fruit.

[@PeterEntwistle]

​@@MoebiusUK It's great to see your success with it, I'm sure it has a better chance of the fruit holding until ripe compared to a full-sized blood orange in our climate. Although I am going to have a good go at getting some blood oranges 😂🤞 I'm sure it will be covered in flowers again soon 🤞

[@MoebiusUK]

@@PeterEntwistle Yes, I have 2 blood orange varieties also. 'Violette des Vallees' and 'Moro Blood orange' which I hope will produce for me.. However, the best orange I have ever tasted was from my own 'Biondo Tardivo di Trebisacce' ... this had truly an exceptional, although the fruit was already mature when I bought the plant in Italy. The fruit i'm most excited to taste is my 'Vaniglia Apireno' which is said to be totally acidless, tastes like vanilla and one of the sweetest vaieties. I hope it produces for me this year bur I'll settle for it just growing a bit more.

[@mauriceatkinson9520]

Try a Tarocco blood orange as I think they are the best fruits. I have one growing in the UK, and last year I got oranges although they were small so I juiced them. Tasted fantastic. This year it is being planted in the ground so I am hoping it will survive

[@MoebiusUK]

@@mauriceatkinson9520 It's really cool that you're growing the Tarocco here in the UK. I know the variety but have never tasted the fruit. Apparently it's highly regarded. Since you've planted it in-ground, it may be prudent to give it some winter protection when needed.

[@myexoticfoodplants6727]

Excellent stuff all round. Great to see the condition of the foliage in midwinter and congratulations with the grafts. Super looking flesh of the Rubino; some good sunshine and it would have been sweeter. Think it is time for me to get in some of that Poncirus rootstock and have a go at at the grafting technique.

[@MoebiusUK]

Cheers, Mike. I'm very happy with it. It would have been even nicer if it was an easy peeler. Also, the rind is quite thick. However, it has a great colour and smell and a decent (if not exceptional) flavour. Average sweetness but pleasant anyway. Victoriana nursery has good, ready-to-graft, rootstock. When preparing the Poncirus rootstock for grafting, save the off-cuts and try rooting them to get even more rootstock plants.

[@VirginiaFruitGrower]

Nice review. Interesting how your climate makes your rind thicker. Mine do not get as thick. Also when leave my fruit on a bit longer in cooler weather the outside rind color gets more of a reddish blush.

[@MoebiusUK]

Thanks, G. Yes, I was half expecting a thick rind but not THIS thick. We had a really poor year in 2023 in terms of weather so maybe this was a factor. I'm also thinking that maybe because this was the first fruit so future crops will improve. OR maybe I gave it too much N, P or K and this resulted in thicker rind ... I will need to investigate this soon. As for colour, I did notice that the blood colour was starting to appear on the outer skin, I'll leave the remaining fruit on the tree for a couple more weeks to see if this happens.

[@VirginiaFruitGrower]

@@MoebiusUK seems thar citrus tend to have thicker rinds there in the UK and climates with cool summers. Anyway, beautiful tree and fruit you have

[@MoebiusUK]

@@VirginiaFruitGrower Yes, no doubt temps are not ideal in the UK, last summer wasn't great here. I do read that phosphorus deficiency / excess nitrogen can result in thick rinds in citrus. Apparently, bonemeal is high in P so I'll try top dressing the soil with this after I see set fruit. Maybe this will help.

[@arifm2k]

Was waiting on this, It looked amazing. How did the taste compare to blood orange?

[@MoebiusUK]

Thanks Arif. If I remember rightly, you mentioned this variety while I was in Italy, I went back to the nursery the next day to get it ... I'm VERY glad I did. These fruits were not quite as good as the best blood oranges I've had but they are very acceptable, none the less. Not as much flesh / juice as an orange. Sweetness is medium but the white pith detracts from that flavour. Its better to eat the fruit when cut in half than to peel it. The smell is incredible, just rubbing the peel releases that sharp clementine aroma. I can still smell the fruit on my hands after eating it an hour ago. What's really nice is that they are UK hardy and the plant is quite vigourous. Very easy to graft onto Poncirus.

[@edark94]

Oh wow, it looks surprisingly fine despite being out year round? Guess -4 degrees isn't a major concern to the plant & the fruit?

[@MoebiusUK]

Thanks Emil. tbh, I could have brought it indoors but have been too lazy in recent weeks. None the less, it survived and the fruit was undamaged. I think this variety seems quite hardy. Even the small plants I grafted on Poncirus rootstock were OK. Looking forward to seeing how it performs over the next year. I would love to see it covered in little orange clementines .🍊😂

[@HealingTimeTV]

Ruby Clementine 'Rubino', I wonder what it tastes like 🍊

[@MoebiusUK]

A slight berry taste, sharp citrus tartness, medium sweetness. These were the first fruit on this plant and we had cooler weather last year that usual. It a good variety but iI think the fruit will be even better next time.