The Tropical Fruit Forum
Citrus => Citrus General Discussion => Topic started by: AndrewAZ on November 20, 2020, 12:09:19 AM
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I have a kishu mandarin in my backyard. It has not fruited yet and I was curious to see how the fruit tastes. So, I bought a box of them online. They looked cool and were the size I expected. Very easy to peel....but, I was very disappointed in the flavor. It was sweet, but, besides that fairly bland.
Just wanted to see what other people think of the fruit. Did I just get a bad batch or is this what I am to expect from the fruit.
If it always this bland, I may take the tree down and plant something better.
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I once had a Kishu tree, and as you wrote the fruit was sweet. The main reason I eventually got rid of the tree was due to the size of the fruit. By the time the Kishu was peeled there was almost nothing left.
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Mine have always been bland. Very easy to peel though.
Had my first Xie Shan this week from grafts last year. Definitely a winner Millet.
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I guess its one of those different strokes for different folks as everyone who tries mine absolutely love them. Mine are always all gone by Thanksgiving. Mine are sweet but also have some complexity and a bit of tartness. I suppose if they lasted into the new year they would sweeten up considerably more.
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I got my first kishu fruits there year and they were good, sweet and flavorful.
Owari satsuma is still my favorite mandarin that I've grown so far, though. It is similar to kishu but the fruits are larger.
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I got my first kishu fruits there year and they were good, sweet and flavorful.
Owari satsuma is still my favorite mandarin that I've grown so far, though. It is similar to kishu but the fruits are larger.
Agreed I have both and its a toss up.
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Ok, that is good to know. This one had no complex flavor. No tartness. Just sweet and orange flavor. The rest tasted like water.
The fruit i bought doesn't sound typical, so I'll let my tree grow and try it's fruits.
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I agree with all of above comments.
First, those you bought are probably not representative to the ones from your own tree, which should be far better.
My Kishu is sweet, but not super sweet. It has a clean flavor. The problem I have is that the fruits are small. You spend more time to peel it than to eat it. I also prefer Satsuma.
But, kids love them. So keep it for grandkids, yours or others.
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Mine have always been excellent. They taste like orange Lifesavers.
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Mine have always been excellent. They taste like orange Lifesavers.
I like your description :)
Next season I will try and keep them on the tree until January. Mine are always gone by Thanksgiving.
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As a side note I have Owari , Okitsu and Miyagawa mandarins this season. I'm not impressed with the flavor of the Miyagawa but this is its first year fruiting so hopefully it develops better flavor as the years go by.
I'm looking forward to my Xie Shan, Lee x Nova producing over the next couple of seasons.
And I cannot wait to taste my Dekopon which has 6 fruit on it :)
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As a side note I have Owari , Okitsu and Miyagawa mandarins this season. I'm not impressed with the flavor of the Miyagawa but this is its first year fruiting so hopefully it develops better flavor as the years go by.
I'm looking forward to my Xie Shan, Lee x Nova producing over the next couple of seasons.
And I cannot wait to taste my Dekopon which has 6 fruit on it :)
What difference do you see between Owari and Okitsu? Or they are pretty much the same taste?
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I think the problem with the ones I bought are maybe that they are overripe.
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Most citrus you buy in the store is harvested too early & then gassed & waxed before being shipped to the store. Fresh tree ripened citrus is always 100% better.
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As a side note I have Owari , Okitsu and Miyagawa mandarins this season. I'm not impressed with the flavor of the Miyagawa but this is its first year fruiting so hopefully it develops better flavor as the years go by.
I'm looking forward to my Xie Shan, Lee x Nova producing over the next couple of seasons.
And I cannot wait to taste my Dekopon which has 6 fruit on it :)
What difference do you see between Owari and Okitsu? Or they are pretty much the same taste?
very similar to me so far if I had to give an edge it would be my okitsu but that might be because its more mature and has been producing longer than the owari has been producing.
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As a side note I have Owari , Okitsu and Miyagawa mandarins this season. I'm not impressed with the flavor of the Miyagawa but this is its first year fruiting so hopefully it develops better flavor as the years go by.
I'm looking forward to my Xie Shan, Lee x Nova producing over the next couple of seasons.
And I cannot wait to taste my Dekopon which has 6 fruit on it :)
What difference do you see between Owari and Okitsu? Or they are pretty much the same taste?
very similar to me so far if I had to give an edge it would be my okitsu but that might be because its more mature and has been producing longer than the owari has been producing.
I have two giant fruits on my small Okitsu tree. They are still mostly green. I guess the fruits on the small tree are not the same as those from big tree.
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Andrew
I am in San Tan just south of you and I tried one of mine this morning, and its still at the bland stage, I think its a little early for them, we need some more of these cool nights to bring the sugars up in them.
I have had some in years past and they were really good, just be patient.
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AndrewZ, I have Kishu and its about 7yrs old. The fruits tastes very good, sweet with a little acid taste (tangy), just the way I like it.
It's a very good fruit to have, always seems to be seedless (0), and good fruit production. Keep your tree, fruits are very good, even though size is small.
Shaneatwell, I think your fruit may be bland because your tree is not old enough or if it is, then you should leave the fruits on the tree until the color is bright orange (they will get sweet). My fruits were just sweet for the first 3yrs, but now it tastes better to me since it has the same sweetness with a little bit of tartness as containerman mentions. I also have the Miyagawa and was not impressed with the taste of this big fruit (no taste, watery). If my fruits on the Miyagawa doesn't taste good this season I will cut off my grafts.
I picked some of my fruits this month for sample taste tests and since EricSC asked about the comparison taste test, I just did one today and here's my rating of the Kishu, Ponkan, and Kiyomi. Ponkan was the best of the three.
1. Ponkan - very good, with sweet/tart flavor
2. Kishu- very sweet, good ovreall taste
3. Kiyomi- good taste, lots of juice
I took a few photos when I did the taste comparison and will add a few photos later.
(https://i.postimg.cc/gwpHnNVx/My-Citrus-Varieties-12-4-20.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/gwpHnNVx)
(https://i.postimg.cc/vc2YztGD/Taste-Compare-Kiyomi-Ponkan-Kishu-1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/vc2YztGD)
(https://i.postimg.cc/k2knrM6m/Taste-Compare-Kiyomi-Ponkan-Kishu-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/k2knrM6m)
(https://i.postimg.cc/SnXytYKd/Taste-Compare-Kiyomi-Ponkan-Kishu-3.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/SnXytYKd)
(https://i.postimg.cc/NymQQhmr/Taste-Compare-Kiyomi-Ponkan-Kishu-4.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/NymQQhmr)
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sc4001992，
Thanks. Very nice comparison. I do have a Kiyomi bud grafted but the Ponkan failed. I need redo the graft for Ponkan in coming spring.
Eric
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Kiyomi grafts/tree gets lots of big fruits and its a very productive tree. Sometimes the branches have too many fruits and may break from the heavy fruits.
(https://i.postimg.cc/tZCWWC2P/Kiyomi-Tree-12-6-20.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/tZCWWC2P)
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I have had a kishu mandarin for 5 or six years, the very first crop was horrible. Every other year has been good to great. This year i have been picking them since early November. The crop was high acid not much sweetness. Once the nights started getting colder the sweetness was increased. Right now the kishus are really good. They have high sweetness with a hint of acid. I started measuring the sweetness
last week and its ranged from 13-17brix with an average being 15. The fruits flavor varies widely depending on the stage of ripeness and how exposed the fruit is to the sun/elements. I ate 7-10 fruits today from different parts of the tree. The flavors range from a straight mild sweet sour flavor, rich pure sweetness, rich sweet and sour Mandarin flavor, and creamsicle flavor.
The biggest downside of the fruit is the size. The peeling doesn't bother me as much as the ratio of fruit to pith and membrane. The fruit cannot be consumed one segment at a time, it has to be eaten by popping the whole thing in your mouth and enjoying it.
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The biggest downside of the fruit is the size. The peeling doesn't bother me as much as the ratio of fruit to pith and membrane. The fruit cannot be consumed one segment at a time, it has to be eaten by popping the whole thing in your mouth and enjoying it.
For me, the small fruit size of Kishu is not an issue since they are effortless to peel. Very loose skin. You can easily snack on them.
I don't know what you mean when you say they cannot be consumed one segment at a time. I usually eat them one segment at a time. They are not difficult to separate. The segments are very small though so maybe it is just your finger size. Definitely would not be difficult for a child to eat.
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I've had a couple years of great tasting kishus, which have had just enough tang to balance the great sweetness. This year, however, has been noticeably blander. Also, the membranes are noticeably tougher this year. Trying to figure out what I may have done wrong. I usually quarter them so I can spread out the enjoyment a bit.
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Mine is on 2nd year fruiting, loads up very well, easy to peal, sweet, insipid and tasteless, lacking acid, like it's watered down in a sense. I still eat 'em and enjoy what I can.
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The biggest downside of the fruit is the size. The peeling doesn't bother me as much as the ratio of fruit to pith and membrane. The fruit cannot be consumed one segment at a time, it has to be eaten by popping the whole thing in your mouth and enjoying it.
For me, the small fruit size of Kishu is not an issue since they are effortless to peel. Very loose skin. You can easily snack on them.
I don't know what you mean when you say they cannot be consumed one segment at a time. I usually eat them one segment at a time. They are not difficult to separate. The segments are very small though so maybe it is just your finger size. Definitely would not be difficult for a child to eat.
Of course the fruit can be separated, im saying it shouldnt be for the best eating experience imo.
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I have a kishu mandarin in my backyard. It has not fruited yet and I was curious to see how the fruit tastes. So, I bought a box of them online. They looked cool and were the size I expected. Very easy to peel....but, I was very disappointed in the flavor. It was sweet, but, besides that fairly bland.
Just wanted to see what other people think of the fruit. Did I just get a bad batch or is this what I am to expect from the fruit.
If it always this bland, I may take the tree down and plant something better.
To me, Kishu tastes like it is in the same type of flavor family as Satsuma. There are different "types" of flavor within the mandarin family, and Satsuma and Kishu are together in their own separate group, in my opinion. Of course, Kishu is not quite as sour, flavorful, or aromatic as Satsuma. Still very good though.
I've had some fresh off a very small immature tree and would describe their flavor between good and excellent, coming in close second place behind Satsuma.
Perhaps, like Satsuma, there can be a lot of variation in their flavor depending on growing conditions and age of the tree.
Of course, it is also true that mandarin flavor seems to be very much a matter of personal preference and individual opinion.
I guess I could describe the Kishu I tasted as slightly insipid, but they were still good to very good though. The very loose skin is a big plus.
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SoCal2warm. most people would agree with you that Kishu is generally described as a good tasting fruit. I think it is a good tasting fruit. The main problem with
Kishu for many people is that it is just to small to mess with, especially small after peeling it. If someone wants to grow it, I say please have at it.
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most people would agree with you that Kishu is generally described as a good tasting fruit. I think it is a good tasting fruit. The main problem with
Kishu for many people is that it is just to small to mess, with especially small after peeling it.
The fruit size is not an issue for me at all, since they are effortless to peel, and the inside is virtually seedless (maybe only one or two seeds in every one out of four fruits).
With it being so easy to peel, taking no effort, it is as easy to peel four or five little Kishu fruits as it is to peel one regular mandarin, at least that is the way I feel.
It is certainly easier to peel and eat several Kishu fruits than it is to eat a mandarin that has several seeds in it.
Look, if these little fruits were harder to peel, like many mandarin varieties are, or had many seeds in them, I would not bother, but having such loose skin makes having to peel several fruits not feel like work.
I think Kishu is probably the easiest mandarin out of all the varieties to peel, since the skin is so loose. Even a little bit easier than Satsuma.
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Like I wrote above, if someone wants to grow Kishu, have at it.
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most people would agree with you that Kishu is generally described as a good tasting fruit. I think it is a good tasting fruit. The main problem with
Kishu for many people is that it is just to small to mess, with especially small after peeling it.
The fruit size is not an issue for me at all, since they are effortless to peel, and the inside is virtually seedless (maybe only one or two seeds in every one out of four fruits).
With it being so easy to peel, taking no effort, it is as easy to peel four or five little Kishu fruits as it is to peel one regular mandarin, at least that is the way I feel.
It is certainly easier to peel and eat several Kishu fruits than it is to eat a mandarin that has several seeds in it.
Look, if these little fruits were harder to peel, like many mandarin varieties are, or had many seeds in them, I would not bother, but having such loose skin makes having to peel several fruits not feel like work.
I think Kishu is probably the easiest mandarin out of all the varieties to peel, since the skin is so loose. Even a little bit easier than Satsuma.
Personally I agree with your sentiments wholeheartedly. I think they are great tasting and really easy to peel. The size of the fruit doesn't matter to me and I will take a smaller seedless fruit 24/7 over a great tasting mandarin with seeds.
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I have an in ground Kishu that’s a few years old. It is at least 6’ tall and 4’ wide grafted on something but most likely not flying dragon. It’s never had a Kishu fruit with a single seed. Taste is better than average. Xie Shan was my favorite in at least 3 blind taste tests. I had some Brown Select from a friend’s tree that was incredible. Other years the same tree is just ordinary. Maybe too hot or too much water some years. I need to get 2 or 3 Xie Shan trees 6’ tall and I’d really have something. I’ll work on that this spring !!! Tom
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Tom, nice seeing you here again. I once got basket of pecans from Tom in a basket shaped in the forum of the state of Alabama.
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Thanks Millet, getting to meet you when you were in Alabama was a highlight of my citrus experiences ! I’ve been busy and decided I needed to check back in to this citrus forum. I’m hanging in there and still trying to grow citrus. You are still a national treasure to us ! Tom
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If only I could purchase a Brown's select or Xie Shan in AZ!
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That would be my thought but there might be a better variety in AZ. I pulled a citrus off a tree hanging over a golf course in Glendale AZ. and the home owner hollered and told me to leave her tree alone. (I was out there to watch Auburn win the national BCS football championship. We had a great time.) There was lots of fruit wasting on the ground half rotten but she was correct. I should not have picked her fruit ! It was pretty good. Ask around. There maybe something better in AZ but Xie Shan and Brown’s Select are fantastic around here ! Be safe . Tom