[1] Keep a bowl of Halos or other mandarins on your kitchen counter, for a nutritious, 35-calorie grab-and-go snack (photos #1 and #2 © Wonderful Foods).

[2] Halos, unpeeled and peeled.

[3] A yogurt parfait with clementine mandarins and raspberries (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[4] Mandarins vs. orange. Of course, each has numerous varieties (photo © Times Now News).

We’ve been enjoying them by the bagful. In addition to flavor and nutrition, they keep us from eating refined sugar snacks.

They deserve their halo!

> February 15th is National Clementine Day.

> The difference between mandarins and oranges is below.

> Also below, the history of mandarins.

> The year’s 40+ citrus holidays.

> All the fruit holidays (80 of them!)
 
 
WHAT ARE HALOS?

The fruit aisle can be confusing. Depending on the store, you can find clementines, Cuties, Halos, Dimples, tangerines and mandarin “oranges.”

Nota bene: mandarins are not oranges, but a different species. More about that in a minute.

Welcome to the world of single-serving, easy to peel, sweet and juicy—and branded—citrus.

Halos, Cuties, and Sweeties are mandarins from California, different brand names for what are often clementines.

Don’t call them mandarin oranges!

While both are from the genus Citrus, mandarins are a different species, just like broccoli and cabbage—both members of the genus Brassica—are different species.

Here’s the difference (Produce Pete and Wikipedia take note!).

> Yummy ways to use mandarins are below, along with some good tips.
 
 
YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MANDARINS & ORANGES

From a hybridization perspective, the mandarin is a progenitor of the orange*.

The orange is a cross between a mandarin and a pomelo, created long ago in China.

From a visual perspective:

Why the different names? Branding! The names are not varieties, but trademarked names, encouraging the consumer to look specifically for Cuties or Halos.

Now for a twist:

 
 
HOW TO USE HALOS

Like oranges, mandarins are very versatile. The first thing anyone would think of is hand fruit. The term refers to fruits small enough to eat from the palm of your hand, such as apples, pears and stone fruits—but not pineapples or other fruits that need to be cut up.

But why stop there? Use luscious mandarins:

 
To find a store near you, here’s the Halos store locator.
 
 
MANDARIN TIPS

[3] Toss mandarin segments into a green salad (photo © Wonderful Foods)

[4] Garnishing a white chocolate tart with a macadamia crust. Here’s the recipe from Rodale’s Organic Life.

Thanks to Etienne Rabe, Vice President, Agronomy, for Wonderful Citrus, for this history of mandarins:

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of the name, but we know that mandarins were grown for many centuries in China. The first mandarin tree was brought to England from China in 1805, and its progeny went from England to Malta, then to Sicily and continental Italy.

Little information is available about mandarins in Chinese literature, but as far back as 1178 C.E., Chinese author Han Yen-chih described 27 different varieties of mandarins.

The clementine originated in North Africa and made their way to Morocco in the 1960s and Spain in the 1970s. Spain started exporting them to the East Coast of the U.S. in the 1990s.

The murcott variety was bred in Morocco and introduced to the U.S. in the mid-1990s.

As imported clementines became popular, American citrus growers saw the potential of the fruit…and how lucky we are!
 
 
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*The binomial classification of both mandarins and oranges branches at the species level. Both are in the genus Citrus. The pomelo is also a member of the Citrus genus. Its species is Citrus maxima. The entire taxonomy: Kingdom Plantae, Clade Tracheophytes, Clade Angiosperms, Clade Eudicots, Clade Rosids, Order Sapindales, Family Rutaceae, Subfamily Auranntioideae, Tribe Citreae, Subtribe Citrinae, Genus Citrus.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Having just published an article about cauliflower rice, we’re following up with this recipe for Cauliflower “Risotto.”

This recipe is from Food Player Linda, a freelance chef in Connecticut whose innovative recipes can be found onPlayingWithFireAndWater.com. When we win the lottery, we will retain her to make magnificent meals.

RECIPE: CAULIFLOWER “RISOTTO”

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MELT the butter in a skillet or large shallow pan over medium-low heat. Stir in the shallots and cook slowly until translucent. While the shallots are cooking…

2. ROUGHLY CHOP the cauliflower into 1″ pieces. Working in 2-3 batches, pulse the cauliflower in a food processor in short pulses, until roughly the size of grains of rice. There will be a combination of very fine pieces as well as larger pieces.

3. TRANSFER the cauliflower into the pan with the shallots and turn the heat up to medium-high. Sauté while stirring, until the cauliflower begins to brown. Season with salt and pepper and add a 1/2 cup of the stock, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. When liquid has nearly evaporated…

Top: Jamie Oliver’s Cauliflower Risotto recipe with anchovy breadcrumbs, via Mimi Katz Chen. Here’s the recipe. Mushroom “risotto” made with cauliflower instead of rice. Recipe and photo courtesy Playing With Fire And Water.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the breadcrumbs, anchovies and their oil, and the chilies in a food processor; pulse until mixed.

2. HEAT the oil in a frying pan and fry the flavored breadcrumbs, tossing and toasting until golden brown. Set aside until you’re ready to garnish.

 
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*Best melting cheeses: Asiago, Fontina, Gouda, Gruyère, Mozzarella, Provolone, Robiola Bosina (not regular Robiola), Taleggio.

†Cherry peppers are mild, as are the larger green Anaheim chiles. The yellow-orange Aji Amarillo and the larger Cayenne chiles
have medium heat. Thai chiles, also known as sprig kee nu and birdseye chile, are hot.
  

The recipe for homemade cauliflower rice is below. But first: Cauliflower rice, also called cauliflower couscous, is poised for fame. There’s no actual rice involved; it’s a grain-free rice substitute made from cauliflower, that can be used in just about every rice recipe from plain boiled to fried rice to risotto.

Cauliflower rice—cauliflower chopped in a ricer, became popular with the Paleo Diet, and it is takes time to make it from scratch.

Fortunately, the Paleo Diet is making people more aware of it, and small producers have begun to cut and package it. It can be found minced or pulverized, fresh and frozen.

Who invented cauliflower rice? There may be several different “inventors” who first pulverized a head of cauliflower. The Italian supplier who makes other cauliflower products for Trader Joe’s ended up with lots of leftover florets and trim. Rather than toss them, Trader Joe’s says, “We put our heads together and came up with a new product made from this extra cauliflower.”
Cauliflower is a nutritional powerhouse, a “superfood,” a term that evaluates foods based on their calorie density vis-a-vis their amount/types of nutrients. A member of the Brassica family, it is rich in immune-boosting antioxidants and vitamin C (also an antioxidant). It is low in calories and low on the Glycemic Index (GI). But there’s more:

 
 
WHERE TO BUY CAULIFLOWER RICE

Now here’s the rub: Cauliflower rice is not yet available as widely as it should be. But it’s poised for fame and on its way: We recently spoke with a specialty food manufacturer who will be bringing it to market soon. In the interim:

 
And of course, you can make your own from a head of cauliflower.
 
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*Brassica is the plant genus of cruciferous vegetables, nutritional powerhouses packed with potent, cancer-fighting phytonutrients (antioxidants). They include arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, horseradish/wasabi, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radish, rapeseed/canola, rapini, rutabaga and turnips, among others.
 

Cauliflower rice can be buttered, sauced or otherwise made more flavorful by adding vegetables, herbs and/or spices. This recipe, from CauliRice.com, advises that homemade versions will taste more strongly of cauliflower and less like actual rice, but we have no issue with the homemade “rice.” Light seasoning, butter, etc. will mask any subtle cauliflower flavor.

Prep time is 10 minutes.
 
Ingredients For 3-4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. WASH the cauliflower and remove any leaves. Remove the main stem and set it aside for another purpose†. The fine stems that hold the florets together need not be removed.

2. CUT or break the florets into chunks so they better fit into your food processor. Attach the ‘S’ blade and place the florettes into the processor bowl. Pulse until the cauliflower is the texture of couscous (coarse grains) or until all large lumps disappear. Do not over-process, as this will result in mushy cauliflower rice when cooked. If you have a particularly large cauliflower, or a small processor or hand grater, you may have to do this in batches.

3. MICROWAVE for 3 minutes. Microwaving retains more moisture than dry-frying or oven baking, and is CauliRice’s preferred method. Place the cauliflower rice into a microwave-safe dish. Add a teaspoon of water—no more, or the cauliflower rice will become too wet. Cover the dish with plastic wrap or a lid. Cook for 3 minutes at 900 watts.

4. LEAVE the cauliflower rice covered, and let it stand for another 2-3 minutes. It will continue cooking in its own heat. Add seasoning to taste and serve.

[4] Homemade cauliflower rice from TheKitchn.com. Here’s their recipe and a video.

[5] Cauliflower rice from Trader Joe’s (photo © Trader Joe’s).

†You can steam and slice or purée it, finely dice or slice and add to salads, add to soups and stews, etc. You can also stick it in the freezer and decide later.
 
 
TO DRY FRY

1. HEAT a tablespoon of your preferred cooking oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the cauliflower bits and spread evenly across the base of the pan. Cover the pan and cook for approximately 7-8 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until the cauliflower is slightly crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. If you prefer a less crispy cauliflower rice, add a tablespoon of water to the pan about halfway through cooking—but be sure to cook this added moisture off before serving.

2. Add seasoning to taste, and serve.
 
TO OVEN COOK

Oven cooking produces a drier, crunchier cauliflower rice that some people prefer, although it gives a less rice-like effect.

1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F. Spread the cauliflower pieces evenly across a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, turning the cauliflower every 5 minutes or so.

2. REMOVE from the oven, add seasoning to taste and serve.
  

Top: Amber ale with blue cheese from the EatWisconsinCheese.com. Bottom: Burger and a lager at The Palm.

What will you do on April 7th, National Beer Day?

Drink beer, of course. Hopefully, you’ll choose a complex craft beer instead of something mass-produced and bland.

Depending on your age, it may seem that craft breweries have always been around.

Of course in the Colonies, it was brewed in small batches at home or for a tavern, and simply called beer. When not a soldier and statesman, George Washington, and landowners like him, first grew the grain and then brewed their beer.

In 1819 the first commercial brewery opened in the U.S., in Rochester, New York. Over the next 50 years, every region that did not have local prohibition laws had breweries. Some of today’s mega-brewers, including Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Pabst, Schlitz and Stroh, started as small regional breweries.

Fast forward 200+ years to the dawn of the American microbrew. In 1977, a brewery opened in Sonoma, California. The New Albion Brewery was short lived, but was America’s first microbrewery or craft brewery.

Here’s a really interesting chronology of beer brewing in America.
 
CRAFT BEER & FOOD

Tom Acitelli, author of the The Audacity of Hops: The History of America’s Craft Beer Revolution, sent us these little-known events that shaped the bond between American craft beer and good food.

 
 
CHECK OUT OUR BEER GLOSSARY: THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BEER.
 
  

Our family typically had turkey for Thanksgiving, prime rib for Christmas, ham and lamb for Easter, lamb for Mother’s Day and a return to prime rib for Father’s Day.

Back in the day, food was seasonal. Lamb was available in the spring. Fall is the natural mating time for sheep, which results in lambing in early spring. From an evolutionary standpoint, in spring there is plentiful grass for the mother, which maximizes her milk production to feed her offspring.

With modern animal husbandry, grass can be replaced with feed, and sheep can be artificially inseminated. Adios nature, hello year-round lamb.

This luscious lamb dinner from Good Eggs in San Francisco is festive without requiring an overly involved preparation process. The artichokes, stewed with herbs and lemon, are a delectable side. But don’t consider them as your “green vegetable’: Add some spring peas, too.

And don’t wait for a holiday to make it. We enjoy it for weekend dinners.
 
 
RECIPE: LEG OF LAMB WITH STEWED MINT ARTICHOKES & YOGURT SAUCE

Ingredients

 
Plus

Preparation

1. PAT the meat dry an hour ahead of time, and season it generously with salt and pepper. You can do this the day before and remove it from the fridge about an hour before cooking. Leave any twine or netting around the meat in place.

2. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Place a cast-iron† pan large enough to hold the lamb on the stove top, over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add a light coat of olive oil, place the leg in the pan and brown it on all four sides until the skin is deeply golden and crisped (about 4 minutes per side).

3. TUCK three large sprigs of rosemary around the lamb, and roast it for half an hour until the internal temperature reaches at least 145° (for medium-rare). While lamb is cooking…

4. PREPARE the artichokes: Wash under cold running water, remove the toughest outer leaves and, if necessary peel the stems. Then slice across the base of the leaves, remove the choke, and quarter the large artichoke hearts/stems or halve the baby artichokes.

5. PLACE the artichoke hearts in a pot and cover with water. Add a bit of olive oil, two tablespoons of salt, two sprigs of thyme, three bay leaves, three sprigs of mint and a splash of white wine vinegar.

6. BRING to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes, until the artichoke quarters are fork-tender. While the artichokes cook…

[1] A perfect roast lamb dinner (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] A beautiful roast leg of lamb from Allen Brothers (photo © Allen Brothers).

[3] Marash chili flakes (photo © Silver Lake Station, which sells the chile flakes).

[4] Make extra artichokes to enjoy the next day. These are served at X Bar at the Hyatt Regency | Los Angeles (photo © Hyatt Regency).

8. REMOVE the artichokes from the liquid with a slotted spoon. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and set them aside to cool. When cool, taste and season them with salt and a bit more olive oil to taste. Finish with some freshly chopped mint. When lamb is done…

9. REMOVE the pan from oven and let the lamb rest at least 15 minutes. Remove any twine or netting around the lamb and slice against the grain. Garnish with whole herbs as desired. Serve with the artichokes, yogurt sauce and sweet spring peas.
 
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*Marash chile flakes are red pepper flakes from Turkey. They have a complex flavor—fruit and smoke—with moderate heat. Marash is both smokier and a bit hotter than Aleppo pepper, but you can use them interchangeably. The flakes can be blended with lemon juice and salt for a meat rub, or added to olive oil to make a vinaigrette, pasta or rice sauce. Blend the flakes with olive oil for a bread dipper, add to soups and stews, chili or any meat dish.

†Cast iron enables better browning or searing, but if you don’t have it, use your heaviest roasting pan.