Archive for the ‘fruits’ Category
We feel enlightened when we see piles of beautiful fruits in different shades from purple and red to green and orange. There are so many fruits to enjoy having during the autumn and winter seasons. The autumn and winter season fruits start coming at the end of summer. Autumn fruits arrive, particularly during the summer months. The soft fruits like blackberries and plums will disappear as the autumn wears on. There are many fruits that are available mostly during autumn and winter seasons. Some of them are:
Apples: Apples appear during the months of October and November. We can find mostly red apples with a beautiful bright red skin in Asia. In Japan, Fuji accounts for most of the production of these Pearmains. They are pretty sweet and delicious.
Mandarin Oranges: Mandarin oranges are quite popular in autumn and winter. They are found mostly in Japan and India. The hybrid variety of this type of orange rarely has seeds. Japanese love to eat Unshu-mikan, the most popular variety of mandarin, sitting at kotatsu (a small table covered by a quilt with a heater underneath) watching TV during winter. Cleopatra Mandarin oranges appear in large quantities in India during winter.
Blackberries: This autumn fruit is rich in vitamins. Blackberries that are larger and sweeter are found in Southeast Asia. This fruit that comes from the bushy plant appears in early autumn.
Blueberry: Blueberry, a spherical and medium to dark blue fruit, appears in late autumn and is found in most of the countries in Asia. It grows throughout September and is sweet to eat raw. It can also be consumed with pancakes or lightly spooned over rice.
Damsons: They are small plums with beautiful blue skin found during autumn in Asia. They are usually bitter and sometimes sweet to eat raw. So they are mostly used commercially to prepare jam and jellies.
The other autumn fruits are fresh figs, Grapes, pears, plums, and raspberry.
Among winter fruits we have Cara oranges that appear only in winter. There are also Oro Blancos that is similar to a Chinese grapefruit found in winter. You can also find different citrus fruits like Kumquaths and fo-shou in China during this season. Kumquaths are tiny orange citrus fruits. Fo-shou, which represents Buddha’s hand, is a unique fruit popular among Chinese. Different varieties of bananas and planktons are also found immensely during winter.
There are many delicious fruits that are native to Japan. For centuries, local populations that were living on the island have sufficiently fed and flourished on these fruits. If you are visiting Japan make sure to enjoy the real taste of Japan in these fruits.
Some of the popular native Japanese fruits include, Actinidia kolomikta, Amanatsu, Ardisia, crenata, Citrus depressa, Daidai, Dekopon, Diospyros kaki, Ehretia acuminate, Fuji (apple), Iyokan, Japanese citrus, Kabosu, Kiyomi, Kyoho grape, Mutsu, and Natsumikan.
Fuji
Often thought to be named after the Mt. Fuji, this Japanese apple is considered to be the bestselling apple of Japan. In 1930, this was developed by Mr. Fujisaki in Tohoku Research Lab, hence it carries his name. This is the second generation cross between the native Japanese apples of the same name and two American apple varieties. Since its arrival on the market in 1962, it has been very popular due to its delicious taste and ruby red color. This apple contains more then ten percent sugar, and it has very long shelf life. It can be kept for almost six months without refrigeration. Most Fuji apples come from the Aomori region. Incidentally it became very popular in US as well, where it was introduced in 2003.
Actinidia kolomikta
This is another popular Japanese fruit locally known as Miyamamatatabi. This is a cousin of the European vine and forms normally as red drops. It is also said to be a native fruit from the Russian far east. This is a very long lived vine, it grows up to ten meters and its best species is Kolomikta. These are vines from cold climates, so they normally produce kiwifruit like delicious berries. The growing of this plant is an art, but the results are astonishingly delicious. These are part of salads, appetizers, and even part of savory dishes or dry fruit. One interesting fact about this is that the plant attracts cats.
Citrus Depressa
Citrus Depressa is named in Japan pectinifera, Okinawa, or shikwasa. The English call it a Taiwan tangerine. These are flat lemons with thin-skins. These are normally smaller than green citrus fruit, but they are juicier and have much more flavor. These are native to Okinawa, and are normally very sour in taste. They are normally added as a garnish, to lemonade, or are part of a tea that is sweetened.
The Daidai
The Daidai fruit is normally known as the bitter orange. The Japanese name is gwanggyul. This fruit is usually picked very late, so it has less fruit, but the taste is more mature and slightly bitter. The skin is very thick so it retains the green color. Mostly, the skin is used in food rather then the fruit it self. This is very important fruit as it is used in Japanese New Year celebrations. Other uses include being part of cakes and the famous dish Kgami Mochi.
The Dekopon fruit
Dekopon fruit is an extremely sweet and fruity citrus. These don’t have seeds and it was developed as a hybrid of Kiyomi and Pnkan brands. Very rich on vitamin c, this fruit is normally recommended for health reasons. In the USA this is available on the market under its generic name “Shiranuhi”.