Cuties, which may seem like mini oranges, are actually two vareities of Mandarin. They are either Clementine Mandarins, available November through January, or Murcott Mandarins, available February through April. Anytime of the year, cuties are availabe to the masses.

This is good becuase they are in high demand. San Pacific, the company that sells Cuties California Clementines, sell over twenty million boxes of Cuties a year.

Although they are similar to other orange, citrus fruits, they have various distincitive characteristics that make them a perfect, anytime, anywhere snack.

The first and most important thing about Cuties is that people love the taste. Cathy Lau, a fan of Cuties, explained that she likes Cuties because “they are sweet and they taste good.”

Cuties make great snacks for students because of their size. Anyone who has seen a Cutie knows that they are quite a bit smaller that an orange, which may be too much for one person to eat for just a snack. A couple Cuties thrown in ones backpack for a snack is the perfect amount for many people.

Another characteristic that makes them popular among students is how east they are to peal. This is important to students who eat them in class. Also, Cuties are specially grown to have no seeds, making it even easier to snack on during class.

Some students take their love of Cuties to the extreme. Lau recalled a day she ate an entire bag of Cuties in a single class period. “One time I got a bad of cuties for my birthday from my friend Grace and she gave them to me in first period and I ate them all in an hour. It was one of those five-pound bags too.”