Japan: Ehime farmers taste sweet success of blood oranges
In a blood orange orchard on a steep section of land, tens of meters above sea level, there are fruits, about 7 centimeters in diameter, growing in abundance on trees of about 2 meters high. These are the tarocco variety of blood orange.
The fruit’s name is derived from the color of its pulp, which is as dark red as blood.
“The oranges ripened well and are in good condition because it wasn’t so cold this winter,” said blood orange farmer Megumu Kodama, 51.
The prefecture’s southwestern part is known as an unshu mikan orange producing region, because of its mild climate. Faced with the falling consumption of unshu mikan, however, farmers have begun cultivating other orange varieties to differentiate their products.
Kodama set out to grow blood oranges 15 years ago.
“I started thinking about growing them after hearing about rising temperatures in this area — the talk is that it was due to global warming,” Kodama said.
While the annual average temperatures in Uwajima had been 15-16 C through the first half of the 1990s, the figures have been exceeding 17 C since then, according to a survey by the prefecture’s mikan research institute on the basis of local weather data.
The local climate is now close to that of Sicily in Italy.
Efforts by Kodama and other farmers gradually spread, leading to fully-fledged cultivation starting in 2005, mainly by farmers belonging to the Japan Agriculture Cooperative Ehime Minami.
As the sugar content of blood oranges become higher in dry soil during the summer, farmers introduced creative methods to block out water, including covering the soil with sheets to prevent rainwater from seeping in.
Back in 2005, blood oranges were cultivated in a total area of 2 hectares, producing a small yield. However, this year’s yield of tarocco, and the relatively small moro variety, is expected to be as high as 250 tons, cultivated over a 30-hectare parcel.
Japan’s import of blood oranges began in earnest in 2005, but it has declined in recent years. About 40 tons are estimated to be annually imported mainly from the United States.
Domestic shipments in Ehime and Oita prefectures of the tarocco variety alone were 213 tons in 2014, according to a survey by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry. Blood oranges have become available at department stores and major supermarket chains in the greater Tokyo area.
“The taste [of our blood oranges] is on a par with those imported,” an official of the mikan sales department at the agriculture cooperative proudly said.
“The red pulp of the fruit is said to be good for your health. I’d like to promote [the merits] more to young women as well,” Kodama said.
After buying a blood orange, it is recommended to put them in a plastic bag and store them in a cool and dark place or in the refrigerator. As it is hard to peel one with just your fingers, it is better to cut them in half with a knife and then divide it into six to eight pieces.
“You can enjoy the richness of its flavor and the appeal of its color even more if you squeeze it to make juice,” Kodama said.
Source: the-japan-news.com