I have solved the small orange problem

[noblegiraffe]

I just saw a Waitrose billboard that said "You know it's Christmas when you peel your first clementine" which made me think "I know it's Christmas when I consider Pigs in Blankets to be a viable crisp flavour" but it got me mulling over the issue of small oranges, and I think I have finally solved it.

The correct order for small oranges is:

1. Mandarin - the <chef's kiss> of small oranges.

2. Satsuma - a solid entry in the small orange category, easy to peel. Sometimes you get the odd duff tasteless one but usually delicious.

3. Tangerines - could be ranked higher but rarely on the shelves so I kind of forget they exist.

and WAY down the bottom, basically in the bin

4. Clementines - the absolute worst. What is up with that horrible flavour? You'd get a better orange experience from drinking some juice straight after brushing your teeth. They try to disguise them by rebranding them 'easy peelers'. Look at the small print and it's a covert clementine.

I think this is one thing we can all agree on this Christmas.

I bloody love clementines. Always have done. We get them from the grocer at the market, much nicer than the weird ones you get in the shops.. I agree those are tiny, sour and weird. Nardcott are amazing, the very best. They're big and taste a lot like the orange juice in Portugal

Can't bear satsumas with their plethora of pith. They lack the pure tartness a good citrus fruit should have. Just dull.

Mandarins are ok, they have better flavour but I always seem to get the overpipped ones.

What a joyful thread, and I completely agree with noblegiraffes ranking.

Personally I have given up on the little oranges this year after a seriously disappointing run of them. It really is more than my frazzled self can take to have yet another dry and tasteless little orange, so I've just stuck with bananas. At least you know where you are with a banana 🤔

I see your small oranges, satsumas, mandarins, clementines, Nardcotts and raise you ... The Sweetie Grapefruit.

Thank you.

I love satsumas and would put them at the top of the list. All the others are always dissapointing because I think they're going to be like a satsuma and then they're not.

Aside from making me chuckle, this thread is excellent. I can't stand any of them, but at least I know now what an easy-peeler is, and I shall avoid them whilst dedicatedly looking for satsumas or tangerines for the house for Christmas.

@BestIsWest BUT the recipe without the star anise is 🔥, why the frig he put the star anise in , who knows, probably because they have to come up with some novelty every year. Luckily I read the online reviews before I made it and left it out. I can't imagine what it tasted like with, Chinese curry probs😂, not ideal on your crimbo dinner.

I know which ones I prefer but I don’t know what they’re called. It’s too complicated. Why do we need so many words for tiny oranges?

Could we have a chart with pictures?

I could happily punch him for that recipe. 2 hours of my life wasted fannying about mashing fucking chicken wings, and no, Jamie, I do not want my gravy flavoured with aniseed you wrong un!

The trick with Sains is to buy them loose. A net of easy peelers usually contains bullets ime.

Also Sains sent me oranges instead of easy peelers. So l don’t think they know anything.

I haven’t done enough taste tests to join in the ranking discussion.

But can we please agree that the name Easy Peelers is vile and patronising and a lot of self respecting fruit are probably turning in their skins to be labelled as such.

I really like Clementines. Tangerines are the best though.

Whatever they are called, I am always disappointed. They are mostly clementines here (Eastern France), both with and without decorative leaves (I rip them off, sod that, I'm not paying for 'food' I can't eat!). They are without exception almost impossible to peel without resorting to a knife (eyes broken thumbnail and cracked top of finger balefully) and tasteless, and mostly full of pips.

On the other hand the mention of the Real Orange above has reminded me that as soon as they are plentiful in the shops I give up on the sodding clementines and buy oranges. Yes they are more faff but they taste great!

@RainbowZebraWarrior I have an earworm now.

I am really irritated by the lazy Easy peeler label.

I really needed to hear all this information. I thought it was my fault that I hate eating oranges 🍊 just because I thought I should. Now, I realise that it was because I bought the WRONG ONES.!!

Re : Nigella cake , you can use up the shite oranges you have bought , any will do , add extra if you want . But do make sure they are really cooled after pulping , first time I added eggs too soon - scrambled orangy eggs anyone.

I did a gousto recipe a few months ago that required reseeding the pomegranate UNDER WATER. I still have purple blotches all up my lovely walls and it made no bloody difference.

Clementine rhymes with mine, see 🎶 oh my darling 🎶

Nobel sadly you are incorrect as far as Satsumas are the Top little Orange, but I concur about clementines.

I only really like satsumas, the others smell too much.
Recently had an upsetting citrus experience with a bag of satusumas from Sainsburys. One of them clearly was not but, as the bag was labelled as such, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and dug in. Twas a tangerine, my hands stank all day 😒

@SteamingTangerine, clementine cake is lovely - I make it all the time at this time of year

Did you know there was once a war called the Satsuma Rebellion. It's clearly a contentious topic.

@noblegiraffe I like clementines!

Yesterday I had a little Christmas platter as an afternoon snack:

• a slice fruitcake
• some chocolate covered kruidnoten (we'll be eating these until Easter, I went a bit wild at the Dutch expat shop)
• a clementine

I felt very festive

I only bring Nadorcotts up because they are normally lovely! They often get sold as 'Easy Peelers' but tend to be really sweet and juicy, its worth checking the easy peeler labels and buy if they are Nadorcotts

Also, writing Nadorcotts on our shopping list annoys DH

Yes, when did this happen and who can we complain to?

There is no finer Little Orange than the Mandagold beauties that used to be sold by M&S, their flavour was out of this world. No idea where they have been the last couple of years though 😭