Cuties(tm)

Cuties(tm). The first orange I have ever seen with a brand name, but that's okay, because my kids love them. I do too actually. Even my wife, who isn't a big connoisseur of plain citrus will eat them. I am not kidding about the branding. They have a little cartoon character logo and even have a website cutiescitrus.com

The box says: Mandarins -- California Clementines -- EZ Peel -- Seedless.

I can find them at the grocery store on occasion and Costco usually has them. Price varies throughout the season from $5 and $12 per 5lb box. A box that size has about 2 dozen. I can even find them in the wintertime (November to May), which really lifts my spirits on the cold dreary days we have here.

A little more expensive than regular oranges, but worth it. Why?

Because my kids can peel them and break apart the wedges by themselves, even my 3-year-old. The rind comes off easily and leaves little to no pith on the orange slices. Even the wedges have no pith when you break them apart and the stringy part in the middle pulls right out. There are no seeds. Really. I am sure they are in there, but I have never noticed a single one. I went looking once and found a tiny, tiny sliver of a seed smaller then the skin around it. There actually seems to be less waste per ounce then a regular large orange.

Besides being able to peel them without my help, my kids actually eat them. They are sweet and yummy and just about the right size. If they want a small snack, they have one, if they want more, they have two. If I make a regular orange, peel it take the seeds out, and slice it, they eat a few bites and leave a bunch for me to either eat or toss. So less waste there too.

So with the ez peel, seedless factors, I occasionally toss 1 or 2 in my daughter's lunch bag for school. She is 6 and in Kindergarten. The Cuties(tm) never come back at the end of the day and I am pretty sure she isn't trading them for candy or something.

I didn't think this was a big deal and didn't realize how much I liked them until one day the store didn't have any. I bought a box of tangerines instead, thinking I would just peel them and take the seeds out like I used to. It didn't work. By the time I got them peeled and seeded, there wasn't much left to eat, my kids took two bites and decided they weren't in the mood for a snack after all. After a week of looking at them on the counter, I just squeezed the juice and made a chicken stir fry with a fresh tangerine sauce over rice.

So, Cuties (tm) the perfect orange. Almost.

Yes, there is a dark side to that smiling little cartoon orange.

My oldest daughter got spoiled. She went with a good friend to a fun get-together / class for kids a few weeks back and they offered oranges for a snack. She refused them. She said she only liked the little cuties oranges. they were nice enough to go back to the kitchen and offer apple slices, but lets just say my wife came home throughly embarrassed and peeved at her behavior. After I heard the story I was too.

I bought some "regular" oranges for her to eat until her attitude changes. The rest of us will be eating all the Cuties(tm) without her.