Author Topic: Cold Hardry Grapefuit/Pommelos  (Read 22685 times)

SoCal2warm

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Re: Cold Hardry Grapefuit/Pommelos
« Reply #50 on: March 30, 2018, 11:34:59 PM »
Kunembo might be used in breeding, but other wise it is not much of a fruit----15-20 seed/fruit, no acid content, and the fruit is not juicy.
Those fruits don't seem to look exactly the same as the picture of the Japanese kunenbo I saw. I could be wrong here. I just get the feeling looking at that Riverside picture that the fruit looks a little bland (I'm pretty good at judging taste by seeing it).
Might not be exactly the same cultivar. I mean, we should keep in mind the possibility that the Riverside kunenbo might not be a good representation of the kunenbo in Japan.

(To be more specific, the Riverside fruit looks a little more on the orange-like side, while the Japanese fruit looked a little more on the tangelo-like side, both in color and consistency of the pulp)


Here are several pictures of kunenbo I was able to find:





One Japanese blog had this to say: "It seems to have a thick portion of skin and it has a scent of turpentine oil on the rind, but I do not particularly care about the scent of the oil, but on the contrary the mandarin fragrance and the fruit's taste of sour and sweetness is refreshing and what I thought it might be good for scenting it. Although there is taste and sweetness, there is also a moderate sour taste, which is very juicy and delicious."
https://hkankou.exblog.jp/14589984/

Another Japanese blog seems to suggest the name kunenbo could be alternatively translated as "ninth century mother". It says that it was eaten until the Wenzhou oranges appeared (that's the Satsuma mandarin).

I've also seen a study done on the essential oil of different Japanese citrus fruits, and kunenbo is set apart by its high fraction of ocimene, a compound which gives an earthy musky smell to the fragrance, but also very terpene like and reminiscent of some types of flowers.
« Last Edit: March 31, 2018, 01:17:21 AM by SoCal2warm »

Laaz

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Re: Cold Hardry Grapefuit/Pommelos
« Reply #51 on: April 28, 2019, 08:27:25 AM »
Both my seed grown Ruby red grapefruit trees survived & even produced a few fruit after the Jan 2018 freeze we had (16F with ice & snow) This year they are back to normal with loads of blooms.