Mikan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Mikan is also a surname (e.g. George Mikan). In Japanese, mikan is also a general term for citrus.
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 A mikan grove
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Citrus unshiu Marc. is a seedless and easy-peeling citrus mutant of Japanese origin, known as unshiu mikan (Japanese: 温州蜜柑, unshū mikan, lit. unshiu sweet citrus) in Japan.
It is commonly called mikan in Japan, satsuma in the UK, and clementine or tangerine in Canada. In the United States, satsumas are most frequently marketed as tangerines. It is less commonly called satsuma tangerine, satsuma orange, or satsuma mandarin.
Its fruit is sweet and usually seedless, about the size of a mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata), smaller than an orange. One of the distinguishing features of the satsuma is the distinctive thin, leathery skin dotted with large and prominent oil glands, which is lightly attached around the fruit; enabling it to peeled very easily in comparison to other citrus fruits. The satsuma also has particularly delicate flesh, which cannot withstand the effects of careless handling. The uniquely loose skin of the satsuma, however, means that any such bruising and damage to the fruit may not be immediately apparent upon the typical cursory visual inspection associated with assessing the quality of other fruits. In this regard, the satsuma might be categorised as a hit-and-miss citrus fruit; the loose skin particular to the fruit precluding the definitive measurement of its quality by sight and feel alone.
While the name "unshiu" (温州) is supposed to derive from Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China where is known by the citrus production, the tree is believed to have originated from a mutation in Japan, recorded as early as 1429 [1].
In the UK, mikan are commonly eaten at Christmas. In Canada, they are a popular snack at any time of the year, and fruit grown in Morocco are commonly sold in supermarkets. They are widely available in the U.S. and commonly eaten regardless of region.
A mikan played an important role in the 2005 Christmas episode of Doctor Who, The Christmas Invasion.
[edit] Export of the Unshiu Mikan
In 1876 during the Meiji period, mikan were brought to the United States from the Satsuma Province in Kyūshū, Japan by a spouse of a member of the US Embassy. While the species originates from Japan, it does not originate from the Satsuma Province in particular. The town of Satsuma, Alabama was named after this fruit.
