A tangerine is a small, sweet citrus fruit with bright orange skin that peels away easily with your fingers. Unlike oranges, which can be stubborn to peel and messy, tangerines practically beg to be opened: their loose, dimpled skin comes off in satisfying sections, revealing juicy segments inside.

The name comes from Tangier, a port city in Morocco, where these fruits were shipped to Europe in the 1800s. Tangerines are actually a type of mandarin orange, though people often use the names interchangeably. They taste sweeter and less tart than regular oranges, making them popular in lunchboxes and as snacks.

You might find tangerines in the grocery store from late fall through early spring, their vivid color brightening up winter fruit bowls. Some varieties have seeds, while others are seedless. The word can also describe the specific reddish-orange color of the fruit itself: a tangerine sunset, a tangerine crayon, or a tangerine bicycle.