Mandarin

Mandarin: a fruit of noble origins

The mandarin, originally known as the “orange of the mandarins”, comes from China most citrus fruits, having been cultivated in the Middle Kingdom for three or four millennia. Its scientific name, Citrus nobilis, rein ds us that it has for centuries been associated, through the Sons of the Sky and, later, through the Confucianist mandarin elite (identified by their mandarin-colored silk robes), as a sign of nobility and longevity. Chinese and Vietnamese medicine have used its skin since the dawn of time to regulate energy and digestion. It was only introduced into Europe, through the Middle-East, at the end of the 19th Century and quickly earned its place as a favorite winter fruit, easy to peel and eat. Its sweet flesh and its slightly bitter zest are used to make liqueurs (including the famous Mandarine Napoléon), various sweets, pastries and sorbets because it goes well with almost any flavor, from chocolate to ginger, via cinnamon, vanilla, muscat, etc.