M is for MANDARIN

 is for MANDARIN

I love Mandarin oranges, for several reasons:

1. they are small and easily carried
2. they are incredibly sweet yet not cloying
3. they are good even when they are a bit crystalized
4. they do not drip orange juice all over you when you peel them
5. they are good to cook with
6. did I say that they are yummy? and easy to carry?

I saw several small orange trees in China, in the front of buildings or in courtyards, with the small oranges hanging on the branches like little balls of plastic tempting me to squeeze them. When I did, I realized they were actually real oranges and that indeed these little things were the Mandarin oranges I love to eat.  Somehow I never made the connection before between "Mandarin oranges" and China!  Then, at The Hutong, (check out my Beijing post), Sophia gave me a few Mandarin oranges from the tree there.  Yummy!

Mandarin is the official language of China. "Mandarin is a variety of Chinese spoken mainly in China, Taiwan, and Singapore by about 1.3 billion people."  Read more about it at this link:  http://www.omniglot.com/chinese/mandarin.htm. 

Check out Sonia's take on "Mandarin" at her blog writtenselfie.blogspot.com