A tangelo is a type of hybrid citrus fruit that results from the cross between a tangerine and a pomelo or grapefruit. A ripe tangelo should be glossy and deeply colored, with a slightly puffy appearance and heavy weight for its size. Tangelos are juicy fruits that are high in vitamin C and low in calories.
Types of Tangelos
The United States Department of Agriculture recognizes several breeds of tangelos. Most tangelos are known by their breed, which reflects the region in Florida where they are commonly grown. The Minneola is a large, juicy tangelo with few seeds. The Seminole resembles a Minneola, but it has more seeds. The Orlando is a sweet tangelo about the size of a tangerine that has the texture of an orange. The different varieties may be expected to have similar nutritional content.
Sunkist publishes nutrition data for the Minneola tangelo, which averages about 109 g and contains 70 calories. Of these calories, 10 are from fat.
A tangelo contains 1 g of total fat or 2 percent of the daily value for fat. There is no saturated fat or trans fat in a tangelo.
A tangelo has 13 g of total carbohydrates or 4 percent of the daily allowance. Of the carbohydrates, 9 g occur as simple sugars and 2 g occur as dietary fiber. This is 8 percent of the daily value for fiber.
There is 1 g of protein in a Minneola tangelo. This is 2 percent of the daily value for protein.
Vitamins and Minerals
Tangelos are an excellent source of vitamin C and folate and a good source of potassium and B vitamins. A tangelo contains 100 percent of the daily value of vitamin C, 80 percent of the daily value of folate and 220 mg of potassium or 6 percent of the daily value for potassium. A single tangelo provides 6 percent of the daily value for vitamin B6 and 4 percent of the daily value for vitamin A, calcium, niacin and magnesium. Each fruit has 2 percent of the daily value for thiamin, phosphorus, copper, iron, riboflavin and pantothenic acid.