Mrs. Kawasaki introduced me to the Kobayashi mikan tree on one of our early walks around 555 in spring of 2021. It’s a compact tree with low branches that sits to the west of the house. This was clearly a fruit she liked, because she lingered a while to admire it. “It’s good for jam,” she told me. Intriguing.
It took two more years before I actually tasted one. The house fire damaged the tree so it didn’t produce much last year. This year, however, we saw a bumper crop.
And oh, wow, are they a surprise! They are a cross between Amanatsu and Sastuma mikan. They have the large pulp of Amanatsu and are bright orange inside like a Satsuma. They have a pleasant flavor that’s not too sweet, but not sour like Amanatsu. They produce a lot of juice, too.
The skin is thick, so the best way to eat them is cut in half and scooped out with a spoon, like a grapefruit. As someone who doesn’t like grapefruit too much, I am delighted to meet a fruit I can eat with a specialty spoon.
I know the Kawasakis eat them fresh in addition to making jam, because yesterday while I was in the garden, I found this wonderful grapefruit spoon buried in the dirt. Must have been lost in a long-ago alfresco fruit feast. Finder’s keepers!
The Kawasakis harvested the tree in the first week of February while I was in Tokyo. Even though I wasn’t with them to help, I learned something from their process: take the fruit from the top of the tree and leave the low hanging fruits to pick casually later on.
They left a whole crate of oranges at my doorstep and I have been enjoying them fresh, drinking their juice, and sharing them with friends. But I haven’t made jam yet.
