Cooking with organic mandarins

When mandarins are on, they’re certainly on! I’ve been giving away bags of them, and at the other end, my wife and kids keep coming home with just as many bulging bags of sweet organic mandarins given to them by their friends… I know, but somehow it seems rude to refuse a gift of someone’s proudly grown organic produce, even when you already have plenty.  

Oh well, lucky we love them. To me they are nature’s perfect takeaway snack. I have fond memories of winters in Sydney during my carefree 20’s, heading off for an adventure on a sunny day, and grabbing a bunch of easy peel mandarins from the backyard tree to munch on as we strutted about the inner city… and you would always find the odd fruit hanging over a fence it the back lanes, calling out to be plucked just when you need a sweet juicy top up. They’re certainly a top tree for small backyards!

I am always on the lookout for new and interesting ways to enjoy they’re unique flavour, so recently I set my good buddy (and co-contributor to OG Harvest) Julie Ray the task of coming up with something that truly expressed the distinctive qualities of this fabulous fruit. After a weekend lockdown in her kitchen, she came up with the delicious Mandarin & Almond Cakes with Mandarin Curd. What a knockout! I’m not kidding, these are delightful little cakes folks, and so easy to make… and they certainly celebrate the mandarin in all its glory. Give them a try… and if you have any tips for managing your glut of mandarins, let us all know on the Organic Gardener Facebook page.

Photo: Julie Ray