Chef Jeon Hojje recalls childhood winter breaks and the comfort of eating tangerines (gyul) during long holidays. With extended winter vacations, families face meal and snack challenges, and tangerines—sold in mesh or cardboard boxes at markets—were a common, warming choice before spring. The chef remembers peeling cold tangerines while warming by the ondol (traditional heated floor), pairing them with dried squid roasted over a gas flame, and the surprising taste contrast like mixing fresh and seawater. He also shares a memory of grilled tangerines from Jeju, where roasting brings out sweeter, tea-like flavors and soothes the stomach. Long bus rides to the countryside were eased by tangerines kept in a mesh bag, and children played by peeling creative “elephant trunk” shapes, often staining their nails orange. The piece invites readers to revisit warm memories with the tangerines in their homes when the wind blows and snow falls.
