JAPAN［Mie］
Japanese Ingredients for the World’s Top Kitchens ＃42
A Health Drink Rich in Biof lavonoids
SEMINOLE CITRUS
2024.07.04
Though the times are always changing, there are certain timeless ingredients from Japan that will never go out of style. Yukio Hattori, president of Hattori Nutrition College in Tokyo, introduces unique labors of love—items grown and produced with care and integrity by hardworking suppliers across the country.
連載：未来に届けたい日本の食材
Ken Sugimoto runs Sugimoto Farm, a citrus orchard in Mie Prefecture that’s developing new products to revitalize fruit sales in the area. One of his offerings is a citrus drink rich in hesperidin, a bioflavonoid shown to have chemotherapeutic effects in treating hay fever and other forms of allergic rhinitis and sinusitis. “By coarse pressing, we were able to retrieve much more of this beneficial natural substance,” says Sugimoto.
“We also fine-tuned the recipe. In all, our Seminole citrus juice was under development for more than a year. At first we added 1% powdered unripened Satsuma mandarin. But we’ve cut that by half now that we can retrieve more of the flavonoid from the Seminole fruit. And we’ve increased our acreage for Seminole trees, which are much richer in hesperidin.” With its refreshingly tart kick, Seminole citrus is one tonic with lots of promise.
Seminole citrus fruit for juicing is harvested between December and February, when its acidity drops below 3%. Though orange, the fruit inside is still unripe. Those sold for produce are covered in bags and picked in July and August.
The fruit are washed twice by hand, then juiced in a machine that removes their peels one by one. Seminole fruit has five times the hesperidin of Satsuma mandarins; products using its powder are under development.
Sugimoto’s Seminole juice made with 0.5% powdered Satsuma mandarin is bottled for market.
◎Sugimoto Farm
394 Konogi, Mihama-cho, Minamimuro-gun, Mie
☎05979-2-3120
www.o-mikan.com
（The Cuisine Magazine / May 2015）
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