News and views from north Bristol's urban village

Thursday 5 June 2008

The Future's Bright - the Future's Satsuma


Oranges are not the only fruit, and what is more, they are in decline.

For the third year in a row, orange consumption has fallen among British consumers, according to market researchers TNS, as the younger generation opt for easy-peel satsumas and tangerines with their packed lunches.

Oranges still remain popular - over 600 million were consumed last year - but it is children and the over 45's who are the fruit's biggest fans.

Consumption of satsumas rose 35 percent over the past year to about 460 million and the number of tangerines eaten rose by 60 percent to over 62 million.

So, to prepare for the coming wave, here are seven things you may not have known about satsumas:

  • originating in China, their original name was "mikan", meaning "Honey Citrus of Wenzhou"
  • they are recorded as being eaten nearly 2,500 years ago in China
  • their English name came from the Japanese province where many were grown before being imported into the United States - Satsuma Province
  • three US states - Florida, Louisiana and Alabama - have towns named Satsuma
  • In 1906, the Japanese navy launched a battleship called the Satsuma
  • The Satsuma rebellion took place in the C19th
  • There is a type of plum called the satsuma plum which has red flesh and red skin







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