You are still on Cotswolds Wanderer but I thought I might leave this lovely part of the world for a post and speak about something that gets on my nerves. I am aware that there are more worthy battles than the name of a fruit of the citrus variety but I can no longer contain my ire at seeing the term “easy peeler” replacing clementines, mandarins and other satsumas wherever I go food shopping so let’s squash it with an open letter.
Dear Sir or Madam of the supermarket corporations and possibly marketing, why do I need to fumble around the net for a good 30 seconds (I’m busy ok?) to locate the label that will inform me that what I am about to buy is indeed the mandarin I’ve been looking for?
An explanation on why fresh, fragrant, and full of sun fruits no longer deserve to have their various names and varieties on labels would be welcome. Have they done anything wrong? Are they being punished? If so they must be jealous of apples who are still being called Cox, Braeburn or Gala instead of “keepers of doctors at bay”.
I did wonder if this had something to do with saving a few pennies on a generic label rather than print different names. However, this cutting costs by cutting corners logic is a little bizarre to say the least as if we pursue it too actively, we might enter a supermarket in the future and be greeted by the fruit aisle, the meat aisle, the vegetable aisle and the other stuff aisles!
My main complaint with the ugly named easy peeler is that it does not make my mouth water. It does not summon up any memory of finishing a good autumn meal with its orangey segments. It does not remind me of my late grandfather explaining to me how to spot a fresh mandarin by squeezing it lightly to make sure there is no air between the fruit and its skin. It does not conjure up anything associated with any of the real fruit behind it. Mostly I know what a tangerine, a satsuma, a mandarin or a clementine tastes like but an easy peeler? It sounds like it would leave a metalling taste in my mouth.
Moreover, it does not do much to expand our kid’s shrinking vocabulary but that’s another battle. Many thanks for reading my letter and backing up my plea. Vive la clémentine!