I hail from a place called Orange County, California, so called as it was once c…

I hail from a place called Orange County, California, so called as it was once covered with orange groves (they’ve since been replaced with condominiums). Legend has it that its first oranges, native as all citrus are to Asia, arrived rotting aboard a sailing vessel from China, and a local farmer, sensing opportunity, bought the slimy mass at a pittance for their seeds. Now is the time of the dekopon. Though the article attributes its origin to Nagasaki, it is actually native to the Uto peninsula- hence, it’s also known as “shiranui.” Its naming reminds me of the kiwifruit: originally known as the Chinese gooseberry, those who introduced it to the US realized that name wouldn’t go over well. Similarly, dekopon are now marketed both as “dekopon” and “sumo citrus” in the US. Let’s hope the former sticks. - William