There followed a significant eyeroll.
Is a naartjie a Clementine? No, although sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference with soft citrus that loosens easily from its shell, like the naartjie. Clementine is
citrus clementina (there’s a clue in the name), whereas the naartjie is
citrus reticulata, a member of the satsuma, mandarin, tangerine clan. Arguably. It is confusing, because when you google both naartjie and clementine, descriptions for both come up which seem pretty interchangeable. But in the four years of living in Chichester I never once tasted a clementine with the naartjie texture and flavour I was hoping for. Naartjie has a sweetness just on the edge of sour, clementine is sweet all the way. Mandarin, quite different, even if the segments are also tiny.