Open the jar of mandarin jam and feel the rich, citrusy scent of mandarin invading your nostrils and intoxicating. Now taste the jam: the sweet and slightly sour taste of the mandarin enhances a jam made of very few ingredients: sugar, juicy pulp and crunchy candied peel of Sicilian mandarins. Try it on cheeses, as a filling for fragrant baked desserts or spread on a toast.

The Fruit

The mandarin marmalade is produced using 115% of fruit per 100g of product, without using pectin. To make its jam, Cascina Bonfiglio uses tangerines both of the Avana variety and the local variety of the late Ciaculli variety.

While the first is a variety widespread throughout the Sicilian territory, the second is native to the Conca d'Oro and owes its name to the Cianciulli hamlet of Palermo, where this species matures in spring, and where it was discovered. It is in fact a primitive species, not being the result of any grafting or genetic manipulation.

Characteristics

Once peeled by hand, the tangerines are vacuum-cooked at very low temperatures and in a very short time, to keep the aroma and taste of the mandarin intact. T

he peels, on the other hand, are left in cold water for a couple of days to prevent them from losing their aroma, then added to the jam.

The fruit is processed in the first ten days of March to prevent it from losing its juice. Precisely because it is prepared in a completely natural way and without additives, the jam could undergo, with time and heat, a photo-oxidation process that causes a loss of color, but keeps its nutritional and organoleptic characteristics intact.

Health Benefits

The mandarins skin contains limonane, an antioxidant that allows you to delay skin aging.

The fruit, on the other hand, is rich in vitamin C, useful in preventing colds; vitamin A; numerous B vitamins and vitamin P, which fights water retention and promotes diuresis.

Thanks to the presence of iron, magnesium, calcium and potassium, tangerine helps regulate pressure and keep bones strong. Finally, the low caloric intake and fiber contained in this citrus fruit make it ideal for any diet.