Hachijo: A Japanese Lemon 3 Times Larger Than A Supermarket One?
Best way to preserve avocados?
Well it’s squirting a dash of lemon or lime. The sad thing is, as of today, there will be a shortage of avocados in the coming months because of the drought in California and other areas avocados are grown. This is also bad timing because in Japan, Hachijo fruit lemons will be in season at the end of this month. But then you would need to import these lemons from Japan so it wouldn’t be as cost effective. So what makes these Japanese lemons so special??
What are Hachijo Lemons?
These lemons are three times larger than the regular lemons that you find in your local supermarket. You would think that, “Whaaa” a huge lemon grown in Japan? Considering that most things in Japan are small.
They are grown from an island in Tokyo named Hachijojima. You can eat the skin but do not worry, it is not bitter. So understand that using the grated skin as a garnish/ingredient won’t be as zesty as regular lemons, but the juices taste like a regular lemon. Also think about the amount of lemon juice you can make and share with your friends and peers.
History
They weren’t called Hachioji originally when they were brought over to Japan to be grown. The Japanese only started planting them just before World War 2, but they were not successful in getting profitable yields. Being a new fruit to the Japanese landscape, they had to figure out the best conditions to grow them. Later on, they understood that strong winds and the salt in the air blown from the sea were the two main culprit.
2010 and today
Source: the-japan-news.com
