Nature’s Fruit Gums
When you crave juice but the large carton in the fridge shakes empty, don’t give up hope. There in the crisper looms a large box of mandarins, reach in through the netted plastic veil and lift one of these orange planets, and admire for a moment its perfect shape and colour, the phenotype of all phenotypes. Then dig your thumbnail under its crust and peel away tectonic plate by plate. Therein lies the pith, clinging to and dulling the glow of the flesh, like mist at sunrise. These cobwebs must be swept away. Gently tug and the vines will detach from the fruit like the world’s borders being drawn up and out of an atlas. It is a delicate task, removing the clinging veins without ripping through the organ’s flesh, but worth it for a smoother treat with less residual chewing. Orange you glad you did?
