How to Eat a Mandarin | Mandarins.com.au

A mandarin is easy to eat, but a few habits make it better. Most Australians eat Imperial from the lunchbox: pulled apart at the stem, segments separated, eaten cold from the fridge or warm from the bench. That works fine. But there are faster ways to peel, smarter ways to serve, and several things worth knowing about the pith, the seeds, and what to do with leftovers.

Peeling tricks

The standard peel starts at the stem end: push a thumb in and tear the skin away in pieces. This works but gets sticky fingers, especially with tight-skinned varieties.

For a faster result, use a knife. Taste.com.au’s method: cut off both ends of the mandarin with a sharp knife. Insert the knife into the skin along one side, cutting down to the segments but not through them. Pull the mandarin open flat. The segments separate without mess and the peel comes away in one sheet.

The viral half-cut method: slice the mandarin in half across its equator rather than from top to bottom. Push the segments out from the skin. Popular with kids because the result looks like a flower; parents of toddlers report it works well for small hands.

For cooking, if you need peel and segments separately, use a vegetable peeler to strip the zest before peeling the fruit by hand.

Eating segments versus the pith

The white pith between the outer skin and the segments is edible and contains fibre and some antioxidants. It is bitter. Most people remove it instinctively by pulling the skin off the segments.

Whether to eat the pith whole or remove it is personal preference. Removing the inner membrane (the thin white skin around each segment) is more work than most people bother with for a snack, but it matters for certain recipes: taste.com.au’s rosewater syrup recipe specifically notes peeling the white membrane from the outer edge and inner core of each segment before simmering.

For cooking: if you are using mandarin segments in a salad or dessert presentation, removing the inner membrane gives a cleaner result. For eating out of hand or adding to a smoothie, ignore it.

Dealing with seeds

Imperial mandarins typically have a few seeds. Honey Murcott can have many more. Afourer is usually seedless or nearly so.

When eating fresh, just pick out seeds as you go. For children or for eating in the car, cut the mandarin in half and use a small knife to flick out any visible seeds before handing it over.

For cooking, juice the mandarins and strain, or blend the fruit and strain through a fine sieve. Cooking with seeds in the batter or curd is a mistake; they make the texture gritty and the flavour can turn bitter.

The sticky hands problem

Mandarin juice is more aromatic than orange juice and the oils from the peel linger on skin. For children: have a damp cloth nearby. For adults eating at a desk: the knife-and-open method avoids the problem entirely because you are not pulling peel.

Washing hands with soap removes the smell. Cold water alone does not.

Dehydrated mandarin slices

Dry sliced mandarins for a shelf-stable snack or decoration. Slice mandarins into 4mm rounds crossways. Arrange on a wire rack over a baking tray. Bake at 90°C for 3 to 4 hours until dry but not dark. Check after 2 hours.

Dried slices keep for months in an airtight jar. They make good garnishes for cocktails, additions to a cheese board, or stirred into hot tea. Sprinkle with raw sugar before baking for a candied result.

This is also the simplest way to use up mandarins at the end of the season before they deteriorate.

Mandarin segments in salads

Fresh mandarin segments work well in winter salads. Callum Hann, writing for the ABC, recommends adding mandarin to a side salad alongside richer meats like poultry or pork: “They add a little pop of sweetness and a bit of sour as well.”

Segments hold their shape well in a dressed salad for 30 minutes. After that they start to soften. Dress at the last moment. Afourer is the best variety for this: seedless, firm flesh, good colour.

For segment-only salads, peel the inner membrane from each segment with a small knife. This takes a few minutes per mandarin but the result looks cleaner and eats better.

See mandarin salad dressings for the right vinaigrettes to pair with fresh segments.

Freezing for smoothies

Peel mandarins and freeze the segments in a single layer on a tray, then transfer to a zip-lock bag once firm. Frozen mandarin segments add citrus flavour and chilling to smoothies without additional ice. They can also be blended directly into a sorbet base.

Vitamix Australia notes that frozen mandarins are a ready substitute for clementines (which are rarely sold in Australia) in blended frozen desserts.

Freeze at peak season, from May to August, when the fruit is at its most aromatic. Imperial freezes well because the flavour is clean. Honey Murcott is juicier and freezes slightly wetter, which works in a blended smoothie but can make a granita texture uneven.

Kid-friendly serving

The half-cut flower: slice the mandarin in half across its equator, push the segments out of the skin. No sticky mess, no seeds if you have chosen Afourer, and it looks like a flower.

Pre-segmented in a bowl: peel the whole mandarin, separate the segments, and leave them in a small bowl. Works for toddlers who cannot manage to peel their own.

Cold from the fridge: mandarins straight from the fridge slow down the mess slightly because the juice is less runny. Worth noting for car trips.

Imperial is the best variety for kids: it peels easily, has a mild, sweet flavour, and usually has only one or two seeds per fruit. Afourer is seedless but has a thinner skin that is slightly harder for small hands to peel.