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Sumo Fruit (1972-) - a Japanese Hybrid of Kiyomi and Ponkan Oranges


TheMatt

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Just a notice to all my fellow Sumo Fruit (aka Dekopon) fans that their rather brief season (a month, maybe) is upon us.

H Mart has the boxes of 7 a la many other boxed fruits you find at Korean markets for $19. Whole Foods (Fair Oaks, at least) has them loose for $3/lb. these are roughly the same price, I think.

I just bought 6 of them and it will be a struggle not to come back tomorrow to buy even more and stockpile them!

sumo-mandarin-w-logo.png

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Thought I'd revive an old thread and let everyone know Sumo fruit have started to arrive. I bought some at Whole Foods this weekend at the usual $3/lb. I haven't yet seen them at Korean markets yet, so if you want the big pretty looking ones, wait until then. The Whole Foods ones were a bit small and not the best looking, but since the skin is loose anyway, what do I care...they taste great!

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I picked up a case at Wegmans in Germantown.  Pretty tasty, not so sure about if they are worth the price though.

Try buying a case at an H-Mart when they get them. Hoooee! Of course, there you are paying for presentation as well as you'll get flawless fruit.

That said, yeah, they are expensive, but as they only show up a month or so every year, I justify it by telling myself "They only show up for a month or so every year". :)

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Sumos were $2 each at H-Mart in Annandale last weekend, whether in pre-wrapped pairs or by the case.  They're nice but I'm not sure I like them all that much more than the Darling clementines.  Does anyone in this area stock the tiny Ojai Valley mandarins?  The fruit basket at my offices in California had them 2 weeks ago, but it is considered poor office etiquette to bring them home with you.  I make an exception at our Tyson's office, where the weekly fruit delivery from California usually includes at least one fruit that is patently unfit for office consumption such as a mango or pomegranate.  

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1 hour ago, PollyG said:

Sumo season, and time to revive some comparison shopping for these pricey but delicious citrus.  $16.99 at H-marts in Virginia for a case of 7.  No weight on the boxes but it works out to $2.43/fruit.  

I saw them at Lotte Plaza and they looked intriguing. But no way was I going to put a case in the cart. We have way too much fruit already in house to get thru. Question: do they have an aromatic zest? I often find a lot of crossbred mandarins lacking in aromatic zest. Making a bitters or cordial with the zest offsets the cost of the fruit.

 

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1 hour ago, deangold said:

I saw them at Lotte Plaza and they looked intriguing. But no way was I going to put a case in the cart. We have way too much fruit already in house to get thru. Question: do they have an aromatic zest? I often find a lot of crossbred mandarins lacking in aromatic zest. Making a bitters or cordial with the zest offsets the cost of the fruit.

 

I don't think the zest is particularly aromatic.  Give the season another week or two and they will probably be available loose or in smaller quantities.  I assume, perhaps wrongly, that since it is Lunar New Year right now, people are buying them as gifts.  Our local H-Mart on Eldon Street in Herndon was down to its last 2 boxes yesterday.  

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Dekopon season again! HMart was even pushing the Jeju Hallabong (Korean name for the fruit) tea. I tried it but it was like hot orange water compared to the my favored honey citron tea (yuja cha).

Another place to look for them is Safeway. I think Whole Foods (as usual) is the most expensive, but Safeway seemed to be a better price.

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