If this season has one single redeeming quality, it is this: the mandarin. In a season so gray and bitter, the mandarin, which reaches its peak ripeness in winter and early spring, is a vivid, juicy pop of softness and succulence. Mandarins in their peak season are so delicious, so plump, so tender, one can almost forget about the harsh sting and the monotonous numbness of late winter. A ripe mandarin is one of those little things that remind us to recognize where we are now (no matter how bleak or monotonous) as a place that we exist within, rather than pass through. The January, February, March stretch is the most brutal time of year, but mandarin season is fleeting.

Source: Daily Sun March 12, 2019 02:15 UTC