Kabosu (カボス or 臭橙; binomial name: ''Citrus sphaerocarpa'') is a

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

fruit of an evergreen broad-leaf tree in the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Derm ...

. It is popular in Japan, where its juice is used to improve the taste of many dishes, especially cooked fish,

sashimi is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce. Origin The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. "刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stuck) ...

, and

hot pot Hot pot or hotpot (), also known as soup-food or steamboat, is a cooking method that originated in China. A heat source on the dining table keeps a pot of soup stock simmering, and a variety of Chinese foodstuffs and ingredients are served b ...

dishes.

Characteristics

Kabosu is a juicy citrus fruit closely related to

yuzu Yuzu (''Citrus junos'', from Japanese or ) is a citrus fruit and plant in the family Rutaceae of East Asian origin. Yuzu has been cultivated mainly in East Asia, though recently also in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Italy, and France. I ...

. Its juice has the sharpness of lemon, and it is used instead of vinegar in some Japanese dishes. It grows on a flowering tree with sharp thorns. The fruit is harvested when still green, but if left to ripen it turns yellow. It is often confused with similar citrus such as

sudachi Sudachi (''Citrus sudachi''; Japanese: スダチ or 酢橘) is a small, round, green citrus fruit of Japanese origin that is a specialty of Tokushima Prefecture in Japan. It is a sour citrus, not eaten as fruit, but used as food flavoring in p ...

, but can easily be distinguished by the apex of the fruit where the pistil has fallen off, which is a slightly raised

torus In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle. If the axis of revolution does not tou ...

shape.

Origin

Thought to be an

ichang papeda ''Citrus cavaleriei'', the Ichang papeda (Chinese: 宜昌橙), is a slow-growing species of papeda that has characteristic lemon-scented foliage and flowers. It is native to southwestern and west-central China and is likely named for the city ...

–

bitter orange Bitter orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the citrus tree ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'' and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world. It is probably a cross bet ...

hybrid, the kabosu was brought over from China in the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

and became a popular fruit in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is produced in most areas of

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kumam ...

, particularly in Taketa and Usuki. In Usuki, there used to be a 300-year-old tree, and 200-year-old trees still exist there.

Usage

Kabosu

juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

is rich in

sourness The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

, with a unique

fragrance An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently vol ...

. It is used with

, grilled fish,

ponzu is a citrus-based sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It is tart, with a thin, watery consistency and nearly colorless. or is ponzu with soy sauce () added, and the mixed dark brown product is widely referred to as simply . The term ...

for

, and as a vinegar alternative for Japanese dishes. In Ōita Prefecture it is also used with

miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. In addition, there are many optional ingredients (various vegetables, tofu, '' abura-age'', etc.) that may be added depending on regional a ...

noodles Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, Indo ...

, and shōchū, by adding the juice for flavoring. Squeezing vertically cut radial quarters with the peel side down prevents the seeds from entering the dish or cup while adding the juice. Kabosu juice is used in a wide range of products including

condiments A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is served separate ...

juices Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...

non-alcoholic beverage An alcohol-free or non-alcoholic drink, also known as a temperance drink, is a version of an alcoholic drink made without alcohol, or with the alcohol removed or reduced to almost zero. These may take the form of a non-alcoholic mixed drink (a "v ...

frozen dessert Frozen dessert is a dessert made by freezing liquids, semi-solids, and sometimes even solids. They may be based on flavored water (shave ice, ice pops, sorbet, snow cones), on fruit purées (such as sorbet), on milk and cream (most ice creams), o ...

snack foods A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snacks are p ...

wagashi are traditional Japanese confections that are often served with green tea, especially the types made of ''mochi'', ''anko'' (azuki bean paste), and fruit. ''Wagashi'' are typically made from plant-based ingredients. History In Japan, the wor ...

pastries Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ...

, and

alcoholic beverages An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...

. When mixed in fish feed, the

polyphenol Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of ...

s in kabosu prevent discoloration and odor in fish meat for longer time periods.

Japanese amberjack The Japanese amberjack or yellowtail, ''Seriola quinqueradiata'', is a species of jack fish in the family Carangidae. It is native to the northwest Pacific Ocean, ranging from China (called ), Korea (called ), and Japan to Hawaii. It is greatly ...

''(buri)'' and

Summer flounder The summer flounder or fluke (''Paralichthys dentatus'') is a marine flatfish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast of the United States and Canada. It is especially abundant in waters from North Carolina to Massachusetts. De ...

''(hirame)'' grown using this feed are marketed as Kabosu Buri and Kabosu Hirame in Ōita Prefecture.

Production

National Japanese production in 2007 was 5,185 tons. Prefecture-specific production volumes that year were 5,019 tons in

, 144 tons in

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

, and 17 tons in

Miyazaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Kuma ...

, and volume in the main producing district of Ōita Prefecture was 97% of national production. There are good and bad years for Kabosu production; 2009 was a good year and the volume in Ōita Prefecture was about 6,587 tons. The annual production in Ōita Prefecture was 3,623 tons in 2010, and 5,273 tons in 2011. The main cities producing Kabosu are

Usuki, Ōita is a city located on the east coast of Ōita Prefecture, Japan. It is famous for its Usuki Stone Buddhas, a national treasure, and its soy sauce production. Recently it has become known for having the look and feel of a Japanese castle tow ...

;

Taketa, Ōita is a city located in Ōita Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on March 31, 1954. On April 1, 2005, the towns of Kujū, Naoiri and Ogi (all from Naoiri District) were also merged into Taketa. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimat ...

; Bungo-ōno, Ōita; and

Kunisaki, Ōita is a small coastal city located in Ōita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. It is located on the Kunisaki Peninsula facing the Seto Inland Sea. Mostly covered by forests and farmlands, the peninsula is dotted with temples. The modern city of Kunisaki w ...

Character

A kabosu-motif mascot character called Kabotan was created for the National Greening Fair held in Ōita in 2003. The Ōita Kabosu promotion council chose this character as the mascot for "Ōita Kabosu" after the fair. In 2005, Kabotan's use was extended to regional development in general in Ōita Prefecture, even beyond Kabosu production. The

Shiba Inu The is a breed of hunting dog from Japan. A small-to-medium breed, it is the smallest of the six original and distinct spitz breeds of dog native to Japan. Its name literally translates to "firewood dog". A small, alert, and agile dog that c ...

used in the Doge meme is named Kabosu, as her owner thought she had a round face like the fruit.

References

External links

Ōita Kabosu - Official site
{{Taxonbar, from=Q151555 Citrus hybrids Japanese fruit Fruits originating in East Asia