I love when Mandarin oranges are in season, but it seems that they are only available for such a short period of time, and at such a busy time of the year. But can you save Mandarin oranges for later in the year by freezing them? While you can buy Clementines and tangerines throughout the year, they don’t have the same flavour and taste that so many associate with mandarin oranges available during the Christmas season.
The good news is that yes you can definitely fries Mandarin oranges. And they stay good for quite a long period of time in the freezer, up to nine months, which will bring you up to the next mandarin orange season.
You can freeze Mandarin oranges in two ways, either whole or in sections. The easiest way, and probably the most useful, is to freeze them whole.
First, wash the Mandarin oranges will to remove any residual pesticides or any wax from the outside of the oranges. Then put your Mandarin oranges on a cookie sheet to freeze them first, then you want to put them into a ziplock bag and remove all the air. If you have a vacuum sealer you can also vacuum seal the oranges instead of just placing them in a ziplock, to ensure their freshness and keep them lasting even longer.
If you want to freeze mandarin orange segments instead, peel and separate the oranges into segments and then you want to flash freeze them on a cookie sheet. After they are frozen, then transfer them to a ziplock bag, squeezing out all the air or you can use a vacuum sealer. Because you have flash-frozen the orange segments first, you don’t need to worry about the vacuum sealer bursting the oranges when you do.
To use the oranges, simply saw them at room temperature. But you might find that you enjoy eating frozen orange segments, it’s kind of a nice treat and a little bit different from eating just a regular mandarin orange.
