Have you ever eaten a Sumo orange?

OK- call me silly…..our daughter April started talking about Sumo Oranges yesterday. She could not stop talking about how delicious they were and how she was craving one every day. During the end of our discussion she mentioned that they are a little expensive, are very seasonal and only available a few weeks of the year. When she told me the cost I thought- I am not going to pay $4-5 per orange. It can’t be that good!

On my drive to Hyannis to have our car serviced this morning, I starting thinking about how much Byron liked oranges. (he eats at least one per day year round) Since I was very close to Whole Foods ) the only store in town that carries them) I decided to stop in and buy two as our Valentines gift to each other. Lets face it- eating an orange is a lot better then over priced flowers on Valentines Day. Well suffice it to say these oranges are OVER THE TOP DELICIOUS and worth every penny. After all, I would pay $5 for a gourmet chocolate bar or  fancy coffee- why not splurge on a few oranges once a year?

After googling the history of this exotic fruit it made me want to eat them even more. Here is the Sumo Citrus story–

“In the 1970’s a citrus grower from the Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan set out to develop a fruit which would combine the best of the easy-to-peel Japanese Satsuma with the big, juicy, sweet oranges from California. Although he saw promise in an obscure tangerine-orange hybrid, this new fruit was challenging to grow. Thankfully, our grower persevered. Over time, he developed a series of methods for growing, pruning and thinning his trees, which is different from all other citrus.

It took over 30 years but his hard work was rewarded when recently, this new variety became the most prized citrus fruit in Japan and Korea.  Following the Japanese tradition of offering the best fruit as a gift, one can find it in Tokyo gift shops, selling for up to $8 for a single piece of fruit!  Now this legendary fruit, which is called Dekopon in Japan and Hallabong in Korea, is finally available for the enjoyment of consumers here in America.

Grown on our families’ farms in California’s Central Valley to the same exacting standards of the original Kumamoto farmer. It is the biggest mandarin you’ve ever seen. It has a distinctive shape with a prominent “top-knot.” The peel is bright orange, bumpy and loose so it peels effortlessly. The delicate sections separate easily. It’s seedless, juicy without being messy, and it is quite probably the sweetest citrus you’ll ever eat.”

If you have a Whole Food near by it’s not too late to go buy some of these delights for your sweetie. I really do love Whole Foods– they seem to do everything right even if they are owned by Amazon these days.

Happy Valentines Day everyone from Byron, Donna and Harrison too at the Captain Freeman Inn.