Mandarin Oranges... Any Ideas?

[Venusian]

I bought a box of mandarin oranges yesterday, the same kind I bought a few weeks ago that were so good. This new box of oranges are so tart that they are barely edible. The peel is a little on the green side but in my experience the oranges only dry up instead of ripen and get sweeter. Does anyone have any ideas on how to sweeten them up or any ideas what to do with them? Are there other holiday treats that are a let down this year?

 

[KP the nut]

any ideas what to do with them

Make pomanders and give them as gifts.

 

[NarcSis]

Make marmalade?

 

[KP the nut]

If they are tart they should make good marmalade. H makes ours just with the juice (neither of us can be ar*ed to deal with the rind:eek:) using Seville oranges - tastes so good and the smell is yummy.

 

[Trembling]

You can use a few as decoration, cut them in slices, let them dry out, us a nice ribbon and hang them up as Christmas decoration. I used golden paint which I sprinkled on them.
Also, if you stick some cloves into the peel, it looks nice on a decorative plate.

 

[Grace Hope]

Manderin orange and ginger marmalade is nice and is festive too ?

 

[ericaboo]

Make some kind of dessert with sugar. Tart fruit is ideal for mixing with sugar - it's much more flavorful than sweet fruit, believe it or not...

 

[Mcll]

I love Mandarin Oranges :) You can make a salad with them and some almonds. Do a search for some recipes.

 

[Venusian]

Thanks for all the replies! It seems that a lot of people have come to same conclusion, tart oranges are tart, and these ones are almost as tart as lemons!:sour: I have been looking for marmalade recipes and I have discovered I can make it in my new breadmaker! I just need to find a case of jars.

 

[Trembling]

Good luck and let us know about the outcome!!!!!

 

[Britt.f7]

Can you help ripen them by putting them in a paper bag for awhile? I know you can do that with tomatoes and other fruits. Never tried that with oranges.

 

[Venusian]

I made marmalade today! Half the box of mandarins and then I added some cranberries and grated some ginger into the batch. It tastes great! I didn't buy a case of jars, I decided just to make a small batch and see how it turned out, see what kind of mistakes I made. I think next time I will make a little more effort to cut the peel a little finer, it took a long time for it to soften up. After it cools off I hope it is still jam and not so hard that I can't eat it.

The rest of this box I am going to let it sit another day or two to see if the oranges ripen up a little more. Britt.f7, I was thinking of the paper bag with tomatoes too, these oranges are wrapped in dark paper and I hope it works the same way.