Hassaku
The Hassaku orange ( Japanese 八 朔 , hassaku ) is a citrus plant ( citrus ) that is grown and consumed almost exclusively in Japan.
description
The Hassaku fruit grows on an evergreen tree that is quite fast-growing and large for a citrus plant. The branches point upwards and are rarely covered with thorns . The large leaves are similar to those of the grapefruit ( Citrus maxima ), but the petiole is not so widened.
The fruit (a hesperidium ) has a diameter of nine to ten centimeters and looks like a larger mandarin ( Citrus reticulata ) on the outside . Its shape is round, somewhat flattened at both ends. The outer layer of the peel ( exocarp , flavedo) is yellow-orange and rough-grained when ripe. The underlying white layer ( mesocarp , albedo) is quite thick and fused with the interior of the fruit, so that the Hassaku cannot be peeled as easily as a mandarin. The light yellow pulp is firm and divided into numerous segments. The seeds contain only one embryo.
It tastes freshly sweet , but at the same time also relatively (lemon) sour , like a mixture of orange , tangerine with a splash of lemon .
origin
It originated in 1860 as a chance cultivation in a temple in the western Japanese city of Innoshima (today: Onomichi ). Her parents are the grapefruit ( Citrus maxima ) and probably the tangerine ( Citrus reticulata ). It has the same parents as the orange, for example, and accordingly also gets the same scientific name Citrus × aurantium . Citrus hassaku hort is a synonym . ex Tanaka .
Since its cultivation requires little care, it spread from plantations in the province of Wakayama across the country from around 1925. The name comes from a date : Hassaku is the 1st of August. in the old Japanese lunar calendar (today around the beginning of September) and supposedly indicates the earliest time at which one can eat Hassakus. In reality, however, Hassakus are harvested until the end of December and are mainly offered and consumed in winter.
literature
- Robert Willard Hodgson: Horticultural Varieties of Citrus . In: W. Reuther, HJ Webber, LD Batchelor (Eds.): History, world distribution, botany and varieties . The Citrus Industry. Vol. 1. University of California Press, Berkley 1967. Online
See also
Web links
- Image of the flower
- Detailed information (Japanese)