Japanese Cherries or Sakuranbo (桜ん坊 | さくらんぼ) are just coming into season and will last through to end of June. Sakuranbo is what the Japanese call their own variety of cherry whereas they will refer to imported cherries as cherry. The appearance of Sakuranbo on market shelves herald the arrival of summer. What we are getting now are ones grown in greenhouses and the sun ripe ones start in June proper. These cherries are obviously smaller than most cherries and of a cheerful blush red. Small fruits means more skin, therefore more flavour.
So what do they taste like? The answer is simple: Like Cherries! But with differences, of course. Sakuranbo is not the least bit tannic or bitter compared to the darker skin USA variety we might be more used to. The skin is firm but breaks apart when bitten into yielding a thin layer of konnyaku jelly like texture. The flavour lies mostly in the skin. The flesh is soft and sweet with a mildly alcoholic tinge yet has little acidity. We have no idea what the pit/seed tastes like. The pleasant floral cherry aroma lingers in your breath but doesn't taste like cough syrup which some of the dark skin cherry might.
Sakuranbo! Blueberries are for size reference.
They are available starting now from good supermarkets and restaurant but take note that they are not cheap. Expect to pay S$200/kg. They are a bit too pricey to be used in preserves but they certainly can be steeped in shochu and sugar. Another popular way to serve them is in the middle of a clear jelly cube.
This is the first of the many writeups on food items that we will roll out whenever we have something in season or good to recommend to you.
Have you ever noticed that most of the fragrance of a citrus fruit is concentrated in the rind or skin of the fruit? Ironically, with the exception of the yuzu, when we have a fresh citrus fruit, it is the rind/peel that we commonly discard and only eat/use the sweeter or juicier flesh inside. Then there is the hassle of having the peel the skin to get to the edible bits. When you look into the details of the skin, the citrus oils are contained in the zest (thin, outer, coloured part) and the inner, white pith is almost always unpleasantly bitter. Wouldn't it be great to have a citrus where you can eat the entire fruit, like a pear or apple, thus savouring all the flavours?
Enter the Kinkan (金柑) or Japanese kumquat! A calamansi sized relative of the orange. It comes into season early in the year. We might be more familiar with the ornamental varieties that sprout out of nowhere during Chinese New Year. In this case, it is the fresh, farmed-for-eating, Kyushu Kinkan that I have in the picture. The entire fruit is edible but you may prefer to spit out the seeds. Yes, you can bite into the fruit, skin and all, if you want to experience the whole Kinkan. The fruit is packed full of flavour. Interestingly, the skin is the best part of the fruit!
The best way to eat it is to cut it into quarters lengthwise so that you can see and avoid the seeds. It is optional to remove the fleshy part but it is the skin that you eat. You must be wondering what it tastes like. It kind of taste like a cross between an orange and lime in aroma, with muscat like sweetness in the pith, whereas the flesh is sour and has a stringy texture. Eating a Kinkan leaves a citrusy, savoury and creamy after taste. Some people might feel a little tingling on their tongue, similar to after eating fresh yuzu zest. If consumed in excess, there is a risk of mouth ulcers. The flesh can be extremely acidic so persons suffering from gastritis should avoid that portion. Another way to eat it is to cut it lengthwise, get rid of the seeds, then freeze it so you get a Kinkan sorbet.
It's coming to the about the end of the season soon. I hope it is still available when we open so that we can serve it to you. In the mean time, Kinkan is available at good supermarkets that have a selection of Japanese fruits. Get some and try. If you like oranges, you will love the Kinkan!
