Kawachi bankan
ingredient / ingredient-kawachi-bankan
河内晩柑
Kawachi bankan is a mid-to-late-season citrus described as an accidental seedling of the pomelo lineage discovered in Kawachi Village, Kumamoto (now Kawachi-machi, Nishi Ward, Kumamoto City). In Ehime Prefecture it is distributed under names such as Uwa Gold and Ainan Gold. Chemical analysis detects naringin, limonin, and nomilin, while a producer-region introduction also describes it as "a Japanese grapefruit without bitterness".
Photographs (captions in Japanese)
2 unripe, still greenish fruits of kawachi bankan on the tree in March.
Shown: Citrus sp. (kawachi bankan)Part / state: 2 unripe fruits on the tree (with leaves)
Photo: Jpbrigand2 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / original image / ledger's original image
Scope and provenance of the photo
Identification: Identified as labelled in the source. Both the file name and the description (French "kawachi bankan immature en mars" = unripe kawachi bankan in March, month 3) state the cultivar name. I opened the image and confirmed 2 yellow-green unripe fruits hanging on the tree.
Image shown: Same size as the original on Wikimedia Commons. No cropping or color changes. For display, a WebP capped at 1200 px wide is served; the ledger's original image can be checked from the link above.
On this page (8 sections)
Reading the bitterness
Kawachi Bankan is a citrus described as an accidental seedling of the pomelo lineage discovered in 1935 in Kawachi Village, Hōtaku District, Kumamoto (now Kawachi-machi, Nishi Ward, Kumamoto City). It was introduced to Ainan, Ehime Prefecture, in 1971; because the warm climate suited long maturation on the tree, it came to be distributed there under names such as Uwa Gold and Ainan Gold.
In a bitter-constituent survey of 8 citrus varieties conducted by the Kumamoto Prefectural Technology Center from fiscal 2005 to 2007, Kawachi Bankan was classified with Kawano natsudaidai, 「大橙」 (Ōdaidai), and Banpeiyu as a 「苦味系」 (in translation: "bitter group") containing much naringin in juice and peel. These 4 varieties are positioned as a group also containing much limonin, but the detailed detection results name Ponkan, Banpeiyu, and Sweet Spring for limonoids; Kawachi Bankan is mentioned only on the peel side (all varieties other than satsuma mandarin). All are classifications of presence or absence only, and quantitative values cannot be confirmed from this source.
In the same comparison of 8 varieties, Kawachi Bankan is stated to be the only one among the 8 tested varieties containing nomilin in its peel. Meanwhile, official Ainan materials introduce Kawachi Bankan as having a taste like 「ほどよい酸味の効いた、苦味のない和製グレープフルーツ」 (in translation: "a Japanese grapefruit with a moderate acidity and no bitterness"). The Kumamoto analysis detected naringin, limonin, and nomilin in Kawachi Bankan and identifies it as the only variety containing nomilin among the 8; numerically, this is inconsistent with the region’s account 「苦味がない」 (in translation: "no bitterness"). Which reflects the actual condition as a sensory evaluation cannot be confirmed within this source.
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: Used as evidence for the official account of its discovery in 1935 and introduction in 1971. / Used as evidence for the wording in which the production region introduces it as having no bitterness.
Checked for this overview: Used as evidence for the description classifying 4 varieties by naringin as a bitter group. / Used as evidence for the detailed listing of varieties in which limonin was detected. / Used as evidence for the statement that Kawachi Bankan alone among 8 varieties contains nomilin. / Used as evidence for the observation that the analytical results and the regional account are inconsistent.
Other names: 美生柑 (ja, identification medium), 宇和ゴールド (ja), 愛南ゴールド (ja)
Follow the connections
Kawachi bankan →contains→ naringin →is associated with→ bitterness
Kawachi bankan →contains→ limonin →is associated with→ bitterness
Kawachi bankan →contains→ nomilin
Hypotheses and recipe candidates for this entry are on the Japanese page.
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Composition and content (3)
Scope: Kumamoto Prefectural Industrial Technology Center research, 2005-2007 fiscal years, 8-variety comparison
Show data
ingredient-kawachi-bankan —contains→ compound-naringinScope: Kumamoto Prefectural Industrial Technology Center research, 2005-2007 fiscal years, 8-variety comparison
Note: The summary and detailed sections of the source material do not match in their enumeration of varieties; both are recorded as stated.
Show data
ingredient-kawachi-bankan —contains→ compound-limoninScope: Kumamoto Prefectural Industrial Technology Center research, 2005-2007 fiscal years, 8-variety comparison
Note: This statement concerns the peel (Table 2); it does not address the juice. Nomilin is not recorded for kawano natsudaidai, otachibana, or banpeiyu.
Show data
ingredient-kawachi-bankan —contains→ compound-nomilinCulture (2)
Scope: An account in official materials from Ainan Town, Ehime Prefecture
Note: The discoverer's name and the discovery year (accounts differ between 1934 and 1935) vary in how they are recorded across sources. Multiple secondary sources also mention a genomic analysis said to make a variant of Yuge-hyoukan the leading theory, but that analysis paper could not be identified or confirmed by cross-checking sources, so it is not included here.
Show data
ingredient-kawachi-bankan —has_discovery_history→ (the claim sentence above)Scope: Product introduction text in official materials from Ainan Town, Ehime Prefecture
Show data
ingredient-kawachi-bankan —is_presented_as→ (the claim sentence above)