Up until now, I never gave tangerines much thought. My memory of
them stretches way back to my days in grade school where I would, occasionally,
find one packed in my lunch bag. I remember them being easy to peel, but rather
dry and stringy. The strings would entwine themselves around my pudgy
little fingers making this my least favorite of all the fruits. More often than
not, after a few segments were consumed, the remainder went into the trash. Oh, Ojai Pixie Tangerines, where have you been all my life?! I am a slave to these spherical wonders. They are easy-to-peel, with no annoying pith (take note, grade schoolers!), and so shockingly sweet that you won't believe this luscious treat is good for you. This is what I imagine tangerines in the Garden of Eden must have tasted like. Well, I confess, I am in love with them.
So when I saw this blog post on the Melissa's Produce website, I just knew that I had to give the citrus sugar a try, using the tangerines. It. Is. Heaven! First of all, the aroma is indescribable. Sometimes I take the lid off of the container and just take a whiff. Clearly there is something to the connection between aromas and emotion because I find myself feeling rather blissful after only one whiff.
Use it to sweeten tea (and do float some slices of
tangerine in your tea pitcher, or glass, and you will feel transported
to a tropical paradise where the sand is warm and white, and tangerines can be
plucked, at will from the trees overhead).
For
breakfast, set the cinnamon sugar aside and sprinkle this on buttered toast in
the morning; it is sunshine on a plate. Use it to top biscuits, scones, or perhaps
sprinkle some of top of sugar cookies. Go bold!
Tangerine Sugar
2 tablespoons zest from Ojai Pixie Tangerines (about 3)
1 cup granulated sugar
In a small bowl, mix ingredients together thoroughly until well
blended. Store in an air tight
container.
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