Food Review: The Dekopon
I first learned of the dekopon almost two years ago while listening to the Splendid Table podcast. If you don’t know, the dekopon, known as the Sumo in the US is probably the best citrus fruit to have ever existed. Developed in Japan in the 1970s, it is a hybrid of a seedless mandarin and a variety of tangerine. The fruit peels easily, as the rumply skin is not really attached to the fruit itself. The membrane that divides the sections is rather soft, and is easy to chew. And the the inside of the sections is a wonderfully bright, smooth orange, almost like some sort of fruit chew candy. And then there is the taste – vastly sweet, but with enough acid to balance, the taste of this fruit is like some sort of embodiment of the platonic ideal of citrus.
This year seems to be the first year of bumper crops, as I have heard reports of them being available in Chicago and Boston, as well as having them fairly readily available here in California, where they are grown. Evidently the season lasts through the middle of April or so, and I recommend my readers make an effort to try one or more while there is time!
image courtesy of freshelectrons