If mikan (commonly known as clementines or satsuma in the UK, though mikan have softer skin and flesh) are the defining food of the Japanese New Year for me, then mince pies and nuts define Christmas for me here. After reading this article on Brazil nuts, I looked at the nut bowl and indeed noticed that particular nut was missing. The Brazil nut is harvested in the wild and so far all attempts to grow the trees in plantations have failed. It seems the nut has been harvested too much and the future of tree it grows on is under threat. I think most people would happily do without the Brazil nut for a few years, or as many as it takes, if it helps saves the species - not least because it's a tough one to crack open at the best of times.
At least one of my occasional readers has a reason to remember Charley's Aunt who, of course, was "from Brazil-where the nuts come from".
Posted by Joe at December 23, 2003 11:56 PMMy childhood christmases were spent watching my older sister devour all the Brazil nuts. She would possessively commandeer the Quality Street tin to empty it of all those precious purple-wrapped delights and then move on to the nut bowl where she would usually spirit away the nutcrackers (the only realistic hope of breaking into those bent rugby balls) leaving younger siblings to attempt cracking second-rate walnuts with bare hands! Not even big brother could challenge her domain over the Brazil nuts.
Posted by: martin at December 24, 2003 01:23 AMHave a great Christmas, Joe!
Posted by: Lisa at December 25, 2003 12:20 AMI could never figure out if mikan are what we call 'Mandarin oranges' or 'tangerines' in the US.
Posted by: DJ at December 25, 2003 06:17 AMThanks Lisa. I hope you had a good one too. Did you ever try the chirashizushi?
I think the Japanese mikan are different to both the the mandarin and the tangerine. Same group, but slightly different. I haven't found a small orange that compares with the mikan for softness.
Posted by: Joe at December 27, 2003 06:32 PM