On the Turkish Tangerine
It's citrus season here in Turkey, and that means some of the yummiest tangerines you'll find anywhere.
Today as I walked through the streets of Balçova I noticed the tree branches sagging over the sidewalks.
They have a lot of extra work these days, as Aegean streets are lined with tangerine trees (I noted this fact in Athens, where I went for the Christmas holiday, too). And these trees are well stocked with fruit. They defy physics, these modest, four-meter-high trees which seem to double or triple their weight at this time every year.
And the fruit they bear. Oh. It is so delicious.
It begins with the rind. It practically undresses itself at the touch like an overbooked hooker. It doesn’t stick or leave gummy pith behind.
Inside the fruit, the albedo surrounding the juice sacs is so fine and so transparent that it disappears at the first bite, it almost melts on the tongue. There is hardly any skin left to chew once the juice is gone.
I love to have a mandalina (as tangerines are known here) for an after-school snack. It is as sweet as candy, and it is far more satisfying than other, less-healthy snacks like popcorn — my go-to snack most afternoons.
We are a month into tangerine season here, and there is a month to go. Despite the cold outside, it truly is one of my favorite food seasons of the year here.