Mandarins
Mandarins are small, sweet, easy-peel citrus fruit -- a category that includes clementines, satsumas, and tangerines -- prized for their convenience and gentler, less acidic flavor than oranges.
How to buy
Choose mandarins that feel heavy for their size with glossy, tight skin; a puffy or very loose peel often means the fruit inside has started drying out. Minor surface blemishes don't affect quality, but soft spots or mold do. Clementines are typically seedless and among the sweetest; satsumas have a looser, puffier skin and are especially easy to peel.
How to store
Mandarins keep at room temperature for about a week, or two to three weeks refrigerated in a loose or perforated bag. Because the skin separates so easily from the flesh, bruising shows quickly, so store gently and check periodically for soft spots. They don't freeze especially well whole due to their high water content, though segments can be frozen for smoothies.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Sweet with much less acidity and bitterness than oranges, making them pleasant to eat without any preparation. Flavor varies by variety -- clementines are candy-sweet, while some tangerines carry a brighter, slightly tart edge. The zest is more delicate and less bitter than orange zest.
- Texture
- Tender, juicy segments that separate easily, with a thin skin and membrane that require little to no effort to peel -- the main reason for the category's popularity as a snack. The segments break apart cleanly without needing to be supremed.
- Aroma
- A sweet, lightly floral citrus fragrance, generally softer and less sharp than orange, especially noticeable when peeling releases oil from the skin.
How to prepare
- Eaten fresh — Peeled by hand and eaten segment by segment, requiring no tools or prep.
- Zested — The thin, fragrant peel grated for a delicate citrus note in desserts and dressings.
- Juiced — Pressed for a sweet, mild juice used in drinks or glazes.
- Candied whole — Small mandarins candied whole in syrup, a traditional preserving technique in parts of Asia and the Mediterranean.
- Dried peel — Peel dried and used as a fragrant seasoning, notably in Chinese cooking (chenpi).
Classic dishes
Chinese
- Mandarin orange chicken salad — A crisp salad featuring mandarin segments, crunchy noodles, and a sesame-citrus dressing.
- Chenpi (dried mandarin peel) tea — Dried mandarin peel steeped as a fragrant, digestive tea, also used in braises and desserts.
- Mandarin duck sauce — A tangy-sweet sauce built on mandarin or tangerine juice served alongside roast duck.
- Mandarin glaze for duck or pork — Mandarin juice reduced with soy and sugar into a glossy glaze for roasted meats.
- Chicken with tangerine peel — A Hunan-style stir-fry using dried tangerine peel for citrus depth alongside chile.
- Mandarin New Year gifting fruit — Whole mandarins exchanged and displayed during Lunar New Year as a symbol of good fortune.
Japanese
- Satsuma and shrimp salad — Citrus segments paired with chilled shrimp and a light soy-citrus dressing.
French
- Mandarin jelly or gelée — A light, set citrus dessert made from mandarin juice and gelatin.
- Mandarin sorbet — A simple frozen dessert highlighting the fruit's clean sweetness.
Mediterranean
- Mandarin and fennel salad — Shaved fennel and mandarin segments tossed with olive oil for a bright winter salad.
- Candied mandarins — Whole small mandarins simmered in sugar syrup until tender and glossy, a traditional holiday sweet.
- Winter citrus salad — Mixed citrus including mandarins tossed with olive oil, mint, and sometimes olives.
- Mandarin and almond cake — A moist citrus cake made with whole boiled mandarins blended into the batter, almond flour included.
Spanish
- Mandarin and olive salad — Citrus segments tossed with cured olives, a regional variation on citrus-olive salads.
British & Irish
- Mandarin marmalade — A milder, sweeter preserve made from whole mandarins, peel included.
Substitutions
- Oranges — Use in salads or for juice; oranges are larger, more acidic, and require peeling with a knife rather than by hand.