Tried Chinese "jelly orange" today

[brian]

I was at the asian grocery today looking for those Crispy Honey Kumquats.  They had none, but they did have individually packaged "Jelly Orange" fruits for $2/piece.  I looked the name up and found references to "Ehime Jelly Orange" or "Ehime no. 38 Jelly Orange", which seems to be a "style" of Mikan cultivar mandarin

"Mikan, or unshiu mikan, is a type of mandarin orange that is popular in Japan, known for its easy-to-peel skin and sweet flavor. It is primarily grown in the Ehime and Wakayama prefectures and is enjoyed especially during the winter months for its high vitamin C content."

But the ones I bought say they are from China, so they could be something completely different.

Anyway, they taste like improved navel oranges.  They have the same mild navel orange taste (I was never a big fan of navel oranges) but they are considerably sweeter and have very thin skin and no actual navel.  For $2 a fruit they aren't outrageously expensive for a premium fruit, and they are nice to eat.  But I prefer the sweet/sour taste of mandarins.

[70Malibu]

Brian,

I ate those fruits last year, it costed more. I agree with your comments on the taste, it was nothing special to me. I got stuck with a box of them since that was how it was being sold last year. It was the exactly the same packing photos as your individual ones. The box I bought had these individual packages inside a box with the same writings from China.

[nofspeppers]

I've had these as well. I couldn't tell much of a difference in the flavor from a navel orange. The delicate nature of the pulp is interesting combined with how much juice they have. Great for all those viral fruit videos but not much else.

I've read you can cut them in half, mix/smash the pulp and then eat it with the spoon. Supposedly mimicking jelly. Meh. I could see a michelin star chef making something fun with them, but practically they're kind of underwhelming.

[70Malibu]

I just found some at my local Asian market this week. It was sold as one box with the same number of fruits, will count it later.

This time, the fruits I ate was excellent, has the same jelly type flesh, much better than an orange for those who do not like any acidic citrus fruit. It is much better than my Valentine fruits. If the mandarin hybrid fruits on my tree tasted like this one, it would rank about #1 in best taste for me.

But I also like the citrus fruits with some tartness, so when I ate a few Cara Cara seedless oranges from two friends' trees, it was not as good as the Golden Pomelo hybrid fruits I ate this year that I found at a person's pomelo farm.

From my friends who seem to know these imported fruits, he tells me this is the Beni Madonna citrus from Japan. They also grow them in China and Korea so the brand name may be called Jelly Orange, not sure if it was registered in Japan that way. This is the best hybrid orange in Japan being sold now.

The info I found on this fruit is, it is Ehime28.
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For the oranges to be labeled as Beni Madonna in retail markets, the fruits must be at least 10.5 degrees Brix, a measurement of sugar, have low acidity, appear dark orange in coloring, and have a blemish-free peel. They are also scanned using optical sensors and are grouped with a peach sorting machine to protect the fruit’s delicate peel. If the fruits do not meet these requirements, they are sold under other names, including Hime Madonna, Ehime Madonna, Aika, Seto no Madonna, and Aika No. 28. Beni Madonna oranges are a specialty variety of the Ehime prefecture and were selected as a new variety to meet market demands for premium citrus in December.

some other internet info with photos,








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[70Malibu]

The one bad thing about this fruit is that the skin does not peel, very thin and it sticks to the fruit sacks.

The good thing is, probably one of the juiciest oranges I have eaten that has no acidic/tartness so someone will love it. It is much better tasting than a Sumo/Shiranui. I thought in my fruit tasting the Cara Cara was much better to me than my Sumo, so I was planning to get rid of the sumo grafts. But this Beni Madonna is much sweeter and juicier than the Cara Cara.

I will be taking some stats (brix & PH) later this weekend and will post it here later.

[nofspeppers]

For the oranges to be labeled as Beni Madonna in retail markets, the fruits must be at least 10.5 degrees Brix, a measurement of sugar, have low acidity, appear dark orange in coloring, and have a blemish-free peel. They are also scanned using optical sensors and are grouped with a peach sorting machine to protect the fruit’s delicate peel. If the fruits do not meet these requirements, they are sold under other names, including Hime Madonna, Ehime Madonna, Aika, Seto no Madonna, and Aika No. 28. Beni Madonna oranges are a specialty variety of the Ehime prefecture and were selected as a new variety to meet market demands for premium citrus in December.

Interesting that they are strict on what goes out to be sold under a certain name, even though they are all coming from the same trees. I guess it goes with the "Premium fruit" culture in japan were you can pay 10x more for a fruit with no blemishes.

Anyway I've never heard of anyone doing that here in the US? Sometimes fruit is separated based on size, but the variety name will always be the same.

Thanks for sharing

[70Malibu]

Yes, the mangos sold in Japan with the same type of premium care is the most expensive in the world. But the mango tree is the same ones available here.

[brian]

Interesting that they are strict on what goes out to be sold under a certain name, even though they are all coming from the same trees. I guess it goes with the "Premium fruit" culture in japan were you can pay 10x more for a fruit with no blemishes.

Anyway I've never heard of anyone doing that here in the US? Sometimes fruit is separated based on size, but the variety name will always be the same.

Thanks for sharing

"Pink Lady" apples are like this - the ones that don't make the cut are sold as the cultivar name Cripps Pink.  However, I can't really tell the difference between the two, both Pink Lady and Cripps Pink seem equally likely to be anywhere from excellent to terrible.  They are often foamy.

[70Malibu]

I noticed that when the Asian market near me (Tokyo Central) has the top of the line melon imported from Japan, they never lower the cost of one fruit. 2yrs ago I bought one fruit for $100. When this same melon is on sale here, the price is always $100 each. It tastes good, but not that good. I planted most of the seeds and they do grow well. I just don't have the space to let the melon plant spread in my yard so I gave all my little plants away.

The Crown Melon ($100)

https://ikigaifruits.com/blogs/news/all-about-japans-number-1-luxury-fruit-the-crown-melon