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Ujukitsu – What is this?
I was recently looking at all of the cool fruits available during the recent Fruit Tree Sale and ran across a fruit that I had no clue what it was. I was determined to find out all about this strange citrus in case I had to answer any questions about it.
Ujukitsu, Citrus ujukitsu Tanaka, originated in Kyushu, Japan and is considered quite rare. Several references mentioned that the ujukitsu is a cross between a lemon and an orange. That is not actually true; it is a hybrid lemon created in the early 1950’s by T. Tanaka. It is a lemon with a rather sweet flavor and is shaped like a small Bloomsweet grapefruit. The yellow, pear-shaped fruit can be peeled and eaten like a tangerine. Many folks say it tastes kind of like lemonade!
This variety does well in this part of Texas and should be considered a good option for a different type of citrus in your orchard. The typical protection you would use for other citrus during the cold weather would be proper for this tree also.
While researching this citrus, I came across information that shows that the oil of certain citrus [ujukitsu, yuzu (C. junos ), mochiyu (C. inflata ), and ponkan (C. reticulate)] is very effective at inhibiting the effects of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NMDA). NMDA is a highly toxic chemical that can be found in some foods (rare) and which can cause liver cancer. Use of ujukitsu oil extract actually reduces the effect of NMDA by inhibiting the formation of the chemical.
References:
Citrus Information by John Panzarella, Brief Description of Citrus Trees, http://johnpanza.googlepages.com/briefdescriptionofcitrustrees
Inhibitory Effects of Citrus Essential Oils and Their Components on the Formation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine, Sawamura, M., Sun, S.H., Ozaki, K., Ishikawa, J., and Ukeda, H. J. Agric. Food Chem., 47, 12, 4868 - 4872, 1999, 10.1021/jf9903206
3 Responses to “Ujukitsu – What is this?”
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9 July 2009 at 12:57
Where can you buy this fruit and when is it season?
9 July 2009 at 13:00
This fruit is available during the Fort Bend County Master Gardeners Fruit Tree Sale. Or at least it has been for the past two years. Most of the major fruit tree sale locations have this unusual variety available albeit in small quantities.
This will provide fruit at about the same time as most oranges and lemons in this area.
15 October 2009 at 12:03
I got mine from the FBMG Fruit Tree Sale last year and planted it in my back yard. I thinned the fruit and left two on the tree to encourage growth and to get it established. It has done well so far but we’ll see how it does this winter. I’d say that it has doubled in size since I installed it. It seemed to really like the dry summer and never really stopped producing new growth/leaves. I didn’t know about the extract benefit. Good to know!