Having access yet again to an abundance of tangerines (two trees have produced heavily now for the past five years or so), I decided to experiment and see what I could do with them besides eating them fresh from the trees or juicing them. Tangerines, according to the online source Wikipedia (which cites the Oxford English Dictionary), are named such due to having been a citrus fruit commonly grown in the region of Tangiers. That article, besides listing key vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional constituents, cites research which identifies a flavanoid, called nobiletin, in tangerine peels "that not only prevents obesity in mice, but also offers protection against type 2 diabetes, and even atherosclerosis." Tangerine peel also contains a substance called Salvestrol Q40 which has been reported to kill "certain human cancer cells." Dried tangerine peels are popular ingredients in Sichuan cuisine. Another use for peels is as a confection. I have been making candied tangerine peels.
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