As Hamamatsu is one of the major cultivating areas of mandarin oranges in Japan, you can find some local brands, especially the Mikkabi brand, in every supermarket here. It may be difficult to find mandarin oranges from other regions, however, there are some other citrus fruits instead, which were cultivated in Ehime Prefecture or prefectures in Kyushu.
The other day, I saw kinkan from Kagoshima Prefecture sold in plastic containers in the basement of May One. Kinkan is a little citrus fruit with a diameter of around 3 cm. It is often used for a New Year’s dish, but I had never eaten one as it is. According to the description, their kinkan can be eaten without peeling the skins. The brand name is “Harumime (春姫)” that means a spring princess. They surely looked lovely.
As they were intended to be eaten with the skins, I thought they might be bitter like marmalade. When I ate them, I found that they were not so bitter as I expected. However, they were not very sweet, either, a little bit sour. In addition, they contained many seeds, and the skins were thick.
This was my first time to eat citrus fruits with the skins on. While chewing them and feeling the slight bitterness, I got interested in the nutrition. According to information on the Internet, one kinkan contains almost as much vitamin C as a lemon. It also contains calcium, beta-carotene, vitamin E, etc. Furthermore, it is said that kinkan are good to eat when you have a sore throat or a cough. If I had a cold, I would like to drink black tea with kinkan jam.
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