Juice your citrus until you have ½ cup of fresh juice. I used blood oranges because they’re in season, I had them on hand, and it’s cheaper and has less waist that juicing a mandarin. Orange juice and mandarin juice would work just as well though, so use what you have or can get.

Pour the juice into a small saucepan. Taste the juice and add 2 tablespoons granulated sugar if it’s tart, and 1 tablespoon sugar if the juice is sweet. Add the cinnamon and stir over high heat until the liquid starts to boil.

Let the juice simmer for 5 minutes as you peel, segment the mandarins, and remove as much of the pith as possible (the pith could make the compote bitter). Lower the heat to medium and add the mandarin segments to the juice and stir to coat. Cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the mandarin segments start to collapse but keep their shape.

Pour the mandarin compote and any juices (the syrup will thicken even more once cooled) into a jar or ramekin and serve, warm or cold, over French toast, granola and yogurt, toast, madeira cake, or a cheese board.

You can store the Mandarin Compote tightly sealed in the fridge for 4-5 days.