How does that Christmas carol go again? Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but winter fruit is so delightful, and since citrus is starting to flow, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
That’s close enough, right? Juicy, sweet-tart citrus really does make winter’s crisp and chilly days brighter. Oranges, grapefruits, and mandarins are some of the very best winter fruits, along with crunchy apples, sweet pears, and tropical treats like mangoes and passion fruits.
Not only do these winter fruits taste good, but they’re good for you, too. Snacking on fresh, seasonal fruit keeps your mind sharp, your mood high, and your body healthy. It’s a particularly important nosh in the winter when flu season threatens and colds make us sniffle at our desks.
If you want to eat more fruit this season but aren’t sure where to start, you’re in the right place! Our team at The FruitGuys visits farms, talks to farmers, and tastes every fruit variety we can get our hands on. When we find the best bites, we deliver them to offices and homes in our regional fruit mixes.
This winter fruit guide digs into our top seasonal picks and the small farms we love to source from. Look out for these fruits in our deliveries from December–March. Our mixes vary from region to region depending on what’s local and fresh.
If citrus season were a play, the navel orange would be its star! You can tell this sweet, snackable fruit apart from its summer sister, the Valencia, by looking for its namesake belly button. In addition to navels, we’re excited about pink-fleshed Cara Caras and deep red blood oranges (which you might see labeled with new, less vampire-y names).
In California, we source excellent oranges from Bernard Ranch and Bee Sweet Citrus—both of which also grow wonderful grapefruits.
Keep your eyes peeled for an abundance of tasty grapefruits over the winter months, including Ruby Red, Star Ruby, and Melogold varieties from California and Texas. Grapefruits are juicy, tart, and a little bitter—a truly sophisticated snack. They’re also high in Vitamin C and fiber, and pink and red grapefruits come loaded with the beneficial antioxidant lycopene.
If you have more of a sweet tooth, you might prefer pummelos or Oro Blancos. All grapefruits descend from the bigger, sweeter pummelo, and Oro Blancos are a white grapefruit and pummelo hybrid. They’re deliciously sweet, low-acid, and perfect for easing into the grapefruit-loving lifestyle.
WARNING: Grapefruits, pomelos, and tangelos can interact with some drugs, including those for blood pressure, anxiety, cholesterol, and allergies. If you’re on medication, check with your healthcare provider or pharmacist before consuming these fruits.
Fun fact: “mandarin” and “tangerine” are two names for the same type of small, sweet citrus. You’ll see them used interchangeably for some varieties. These are some of the best winter fruits because they’re typically sweet, easy to peel, and a cinch to snack on in the office.
We source most of our mandarins from California, including the festive stem and leaf mandarins already popping up in some mixes. We’re also big fans of Satsuma mandarins, which are seedless and have “zipper” skin that makes them simple to peel and eat. Clementines will also come on strong in December and January, along with Page mandarins from our friends at Homegrown Organic Farms and Kings River Packing.
We’ll also have tiny and delicious Kishu mandarins from Fruitition Sales/Ripe to You (which represents the family farm Rising C Ranches) in January. In late February, our pals at Friend’s Ranches will start supplying us with their famous Ojai Pixie tangerines, followed by Gold Nugget and Tahoe Gold tangerines in March. The rare Ojai Pixies from Friend’s are naturally seedless and always delicious—so much so that they’ve been a snack of choice at the White House! They’re also included in Slow Food’s Ark of Taste, a living catalog of culturally significant foods facing extinction.
When you cross a mandarin with a grapefruit, you get a tangelo. One of our favorites is the sweet-tart Minneola, which is nicknamed the “honeybell” for its bell shape. We’re also fans of tangelo descendants like the Lee mandarin, a Clementine mandarin and Orlando tangelo cross.
Last but not least, we have to mention tasty and versatile California mandarinquats and kumquats. These delicious winter fruits are like Mother Nature’s sour candy. They have sweet skin and tart flesh, and you can eat them whole, just like grapes!
Most of The FruitGuys’ facilities will have local apples in abundance throughout the winter. We source these from family farms whenever possible, like Frecon Farms in Pennsylvania and Mick Klüg Farms and Lehman’s Orchard in Michigan. We’re particularly excited for Frecon’s Stayman Winesap and Fuji apples.
We also have fantastic, unique apple varieties from Washington, California, and beyond including the Arkansas Black, SnapDragon ®, SweeTango ®, Cosmic Crisp ®, and Pink Pearl. To learn more about fifteen of the apple varieties we often include in our fruit boxes and how they rank from sweet to tart, check our apple flavor chart.
After an unusually small crop in 2024, pears are back in action in 2025! The California crop wrapped up in the fall, but the Washington crop is big, juicy, and delicious, with the subtle flavor pears are known for. Whether you go for Comice, D’Anjou, Forelle, French Butter, Bartlett, Packham, Seckel, or the sweet and fragrant Taylor’s Gold, there is truly a pear for everyone. One of our favorites, the Asian pear, is already done for the year, but we look forward to its return this coming fall.
Sadly, a few of our favorite California-grown winter fruits finished up seasons early this year due to weather, including gem-like pomegranates, autumnal Fuyu persimmons from Brandt Farms, and crack-and-eat finger limes from Shanley Farms. If you miss those fruits, try one of these unique and tropical treats from California instead: passion fruits, feijoas, pink lemons, or Buddha’s hands (best zested).
Then, keep a lookout for more fun items as the season progresses. We’re excited for California mangoes, guavas, and rambutans in the new year, along with strawberries from Oxnard that are already trickling in. Finally, avocado fans, take note: We’ll have Bacon avocados available from December through March, and Fuertes close behind in February and March.
If you already buy fresh fruit from The FruitGuys, you can check This Week’s Mixes throughout the winter to see exactly what’s in your box. Then, get snacking—or cooking!
All of the fruits we listed are delicious eaten out of hand as a snack, both at the office and at home. But if you want to get more adventurous with your winter fruit, here are a few recipes to help inspire you.
Find more fresh and healthy recipes in the recipe section of our blog.
Thanks for reading our guide to the best fruits for winter snacking! If you’d like to get these fresh, seasonal bites delivered to your office or home, just browse our regional fruit mixes and choose your favorite. You can order today or, if you need fruit for multiple locations or a large office, request a custom quote from our team. We’ll have you peeling juicy mandarins and popping kumquats in your mouth before you can sing “let it snow.”
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