Sumo Citrus Oranges (Dekopon)

I consider myself extremely fortunate in some regards as a blogger who used to live in Japan and now does not. One of the big ones is my unimaginable access to Japanese food from my current location. If I lived in my home town, well, let's just say there'd be nothing to write about or I'd have to rack up extremely hefty mail order bills by getting things from agencies that sell exported Japanese snacks.

Though I knew shelf stable items would always be possible, I didn't think fresh fruit and vegetables would. I was thrilled when I found "kabocha" (Japanese pumpkin) at local markets. In fact, I was shocked at just how often I could find it. After a few rounds of cooking with it, and noting that it was grown in Mexico, the excitement vanished. The kabocha that I tend to have access to tastes like a cross between a squash and a cantaloupe. There is something of a strange aftertaste to it. Clearly, a kabocha by any other name does not taste as sweet.

The lesson I learned was that it may walk like a Japanese duck, talk like a Japanese duck, but it doesn't taste like a Japanese duck... not that I have ever eaten a Japanese duck. My experience with the kabocha showed me that produce can be marketed as being like what I loved, but not actually taste like it. With that thought in mind, I approached the "Sumo Citrus" entity that is often marketed as "Japanese mandarins". What they are, ostensibly, is dekopon, a type of Japanese orange which is available in the winter and is sweeter and more flavorful than your average orange.

Finding Sumo Citrus is not easy. They have a limited number of stores carrying their produce. If you are going to try and track some down, I'd recommend calling the stores listed on their web site to make sure they have them first. And, I'm going to tip my hand and say that you are going to want to find them if you like oranges a little because they are fantastic. They are every bit as good if not better than the dekopon I bought in Japan.

The only down side to these oranges is that they aren't cheap. Whole Foods, which is where I got mine, is selling them for $3.99 a pound. One orange will cost you about $2. Though that is a pretty large orange, it is a splurge. At the very least, it is a healthy one.

Finding them at Whole Foods was more of a chore than I expected. We went in through one of the entrances and walked the length of the front of the store to the produce section. After casing the entire produce area, we had to ask someone where they were and they were in a display outside and in front of the other entrance. As we approached the display, a woman was picking one up and saying that they were really good, but expensive. We told her that we'd had them in Japan and that they were very, very good.

As my husband talked to her about our past experience, I picked out the ugliest, most pock-marked-looking and old-looking ones. My husband asked me why I was taking those ones and I told him that the worst looking ones were the sweetest. In Japan, it's common to pick them then allow them to age a bit so their natural sugars develop. So, if you decide to have these, don't go for the pretty ones. The ugliest one from our bag was nearly as sweet as candy.

These are seasonal and available in a limited area. I wish more growers were providing them, but Sumo Citrus is the only one I know and there is a risk that they won't produce many (or at all) next year due to the drought in California. Get some while you can, if you can. They're really worth it.

Dekopon

There has been much talk in the U.S. over the last several years about why poor people suffer from obesity more than richer ones. Some people have speculated that part of the reason for this is that healthy food is so much more expensive than junk. I haven't lived in America for a long time, so it's hard for me to speak about costs in the U.S. anymore, but I can say that it is definitely the case that healthy food is more expensive than junk in Japan.

I had seen dekopon (デコポン) for years in Japanese markets, but wasn't inclined to buy some unknown fruit because of the high cost of fruit here. The average apple, orange or pear (or similar fruit) is generally available for 100-250 ($1.10-$2.76) yen per piece. I bought this dekopon for an average of 120 yen ($1.33) per orange as part of a pack of four. Suffice it to say, I would have tried these a long time ago if I had ever been given them as a gift. Dekopon are not like persimmons, mikan or natsu mikan in Japan, which are often given away for free.

You can tell a dekpon by it's "outie" style navel (as opposed to the "innie" style of a navel orange). That being said, not all dekopon have this outward navel. In the package I bought, the top one was the only one with an extended navel on it. The other three were positioned to explicitly hide the fact that they didn't have the trademark protrusion. I guess they know people prefer to buy the ones that look like a proper dekopon so they hide the unfortunate ones that don't fit the profile. It's this sort of experience which casts doubt on the touted custom of "kodawari" (perfectionism) when it comes to food. Clearly, this was not packaged with perfection in mind, but rather to hide its imperfections.

The distinguishing feature of dekopon as a citrus fruit is supposed to be its sweetness. The fruit are picked and left to age to lower the acid and increase the sweetness level. Because of this, sometimes the skin on dekopon looks a little worse for wear. Since I'm not a particular fan of very acidic fruit (and this is why I generally don't care for oranges), I thought I might give these a try and see if they really were more palatable to me than the average orange.

I've purchased and consumed about 12 dekopon prior to writing this review (they are currently "in season" and are generally available between December and April) and I can say that they are sweeter than navel oranges, though they aren't "very sweet" as the Wikipedia entry would lead one to believe. I really enjoy them and would definitely buy them again and again as they show up seasonally. Note that they have a nice taste which is similar to an orange or tangerine, but they don't have much of a fragrance. I don't think the peel would be good for anything (cooking, potpourri).

If you see these oranges with the "outie" navel at a fruit market in Japan, I'd recommend giving them a try despite the slightly high cost. That being said, I will warn you that, as has been said on Seinfeld, "fruit is a gamble." Just because I've had a dozen of these and they were all fairly sweet, you can have sour ones. I follow a blog called "It Will Stop Raining" and its author has said that she's had some exceptionally sour ones. Also, be forewarned that some California oranges that look like small dekopon (but are not this variety) are often sold at the same time as dekopon so you'll need to check the katakana characters and make sure they match the ones in the picture at the top of this post.