Fruit
Mandarin
MandarinaMandarinaCitrus reticulata
The fruit you peel without a knife that leaves your hands smelling of winter. Almost all the ones sold here are clementines, a type of mandarin.
When
Around: Oct–Mar · At its best: Nov–Jan
Around: Sept–Apr · At its best: Nov–Jan
Around: Apr–Sept · At its best: May–Jul
Around here
The Terres de l'Ebre have their own label: Clementines de les Terres de l'Ebre PGI, from Baix Ebre and Montsià. The season runs variety by variety: early ones like Marisol or Oronules first, then Clemenules, the most common, and finally late ones like Hernandina. Satsumas, flatter with loose skin, are among the first to arrive.
At the market
- Heavy, with the skin snug against the segments. Puffy, loose skin means it's drying out.
- Bright colour and glossy skin, no soft spots.
- If they come with leaves, they should be green and stiff: a sign they were picked recently.
- Sniff the stem end: a good mandarin smells before you peel it.
At home
- In the fruit bowl they keep four or five days.
- In the fridge, loose in the drawer, one or two weeks.
- Check the bag often: one mouldy fruit spoils the ones around it.
If you have too much
- Whole-mandarin jam: boil them whole first to take out the bitterness, then blitz with sugar.
- Freeze peeled segments on a tray, then bag them: half-thawed they're a sorbet.
- Dry the peels in the sun: for infusions, to perfume stews or to light the fire.
- Liqueur: pith-free peel in eau-de-vie or vodka for a few weeks, then add syrup.
In the kitchen
- Just as they are, in your coat pocket.
- In a salad with escarole, pomegranate and a little spring onion.
- Mandarin juice sorbet or granita.
- Segments dipped in dark chocolate.
- Roast chicken with halved mandarins in the tray.
What it brings
Per 100 g, raw.
- Energy
- 53 kcal
- Water
- 85% water
- Carbs
- 13.3 g
- Sugars
- 10.6 g
- Fibre
- 1.8 g
- Protein
- 0.8 g
Stands out for
- High in vitamin C26.7 mg · 33% of what you need in a day
Data from the USDA (FoodData Central). See the full table ↗ · How we decide what stands out
Goes with
- EndiveOct–MarBitter outside and almost sweet at the heart, which is yellow because the outer leaves keep the light off it. Cold weather makes it more tender.
- PomegranateSept–DecA jewel box with hundreds of seeds. There's a trick to getting them out, and once you know it you won't stain your shirt again.
- PersimmonOct–DecThere are two kinds: the old-fashioned one, eaten with a spoon when it's soft as jelly, and the «persimon», eaten firm like an apple. Bite a soft-type one too early and your mouth turns to sandpaper.
- Sweet potatoSept–JanIt looks like a potato with ambitions, but in the oven it turns almost into a pudding: slow heat converts some of its starch into sugar.