They're not cheap, and they have a somewhat limited season, but "Sumo" Mandarin oranges are delightful, for all the name is a cultural mishmash. The Sumo part appears to be because they're burly, as oranges go, and they have a topknot at the stem end.
That topknot makes them easy to open: just grab it and twist. The fruit inside is sweet and juicy, easily separated from the thick rind. Tamara loves them, and will buy them any time they're available.
As the season goes on, they get even sweeter and juicier. I was enjoying one today (kind of, ahem, "borrowed" from Tam's stock) and I was reminded of a gadget from my childhood: An in-orange juicer.
We called them "squooters," but the "OJ Squeater," world's smallest juice extractor, seems to be what we had, and it's a riff on the Citri Sipper, patented in 1931. I looked in vain at the big retail sites, but eBay's got plenty of them, and the original Citri Sipper appears to still be a staple of Florida orange stands. Caveat emptor on those links -- and are you sure you don't have one in the back of the kitchen-gadgets drawer?
I didn't, and I wish I had. These late-season Sumo Mandarins are made for 'em. Nicest Vitamin C I ever had.
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