Mandarin Orange Dessert Sauce

1. Drain mandarin oranges and reserve the liquid. Measure out 1/3 cup of the drained liquid and set aside. If you do not have enough liquid, add water to make the 1/3 cup.

2. In a heavy saucepan, bring the 6 ounces orange juice concentrate, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup drained mandarin orange liquid, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, grated orange rind, and 2 tablespoons corn syrup to a boil.

3. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer about 5 minutes.

4. Remove sauce from heat and let cool to lukewarm.

5. Once cooled, fold in drained mandarin oranges and refrigerate before use.

Serve this mandarin orange sauce cold or at room temperature over any number of sweet treats from ice cream and pound cake to pancakes and waffles.

Cook's Note: Mandarin oranges are available canned in a number of liquids from heavy syrup to juice. We recommend finding a canned product that does not contain any added sugars in the form of "heavy" or "light" syrup. But if you must use a syrup-based product, you may wish to decrease the granulated white sugar in this recipe.

About Mandarin Oranges

Mandarin oranges are actually a category of loose-skinned orange that includes the clementine, dancy, satsuma, and tangerine. When most home cooks think of mandarin oranges, they picture the jarred or canned small, peeled orange pieces that are most typically satsumas. Mandarin orange pieces can be purchased jarred or canned in a heavy syrup, light syrup, or juice. Though mandarins have become a favorite fruit snack and home cooking ingredient, they were historically also used in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine).