Ōgonkan (黄金柑, "golden citrus")orKi-mikan (黄蜜柑, "yellow mikan") are the common names for a small sized variety of Japanese citrus, whose rind is of a characteristic "golden" bright yellow color.
The variety has been published as the species Citrus flaviculpusbyChōzaburō Tanaka in his 160-species scheme, but this is considered an effort of a "splitter", as opposed to Swingle's classification system which is generally preferred in the West.
Alternate spellings (romanizations) include "Ougonkan"[1] or "Ogon-kan".[2] It has also been called "Golden orange" in Kanagawa Prefecture.
The variety has long been known in Kagoshima PrefectureasKi-mikan (黄蜜柑, "yellow mikan") but, precise origins are unknown.[3]
According to one assertion, it has been known in Higashi-ichiki-chō (ja) and its neighborhood (now Hioki, Kagoshima) since the Meiji Period.[citation needed] Anecdotally in this Hioki area, the variety is said to have been either introduced by the Jesuit Francisco de Xavier, or brought back from the Korean Peninsula during Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea in the late 16th century.[citation needed] It has been suggested that the name『Ōgonkan』was dubbed by Harutarō Muramatsu (村松春太郎) who introduced the variety to Ehime Prefecture,[citation needed] but this too is poorly documented.
The small fruit has a diameter of 4 to 5 cm (1.6 to 2.0 in), weighing 60 to 80 g (2.1 to 2.8 oz).[4] The rind, which is bright yellow, can be peeled by hand but with difficulty.[5] It has a distinct fragrance, and a considerably sweet flavour, with some balancing acidity. The fruit is harvested from February to April. Seedless (self-incompatibility) traits have been observed.[6]
Its fragrance is similar to the Hyuganatsu, a larger citrus that is also bright yellow,[4] but somewhat sweeter by comparison. Like the Hyuganatsu, the white pith (albedo) may be eaten.[4]
The rind's cold-pressed oil has been studied for fragrance factors, and was found to contain limonene (roughly 80%), followed by the monoterpeneGamma-terpinene (10%), trans beta-farnesene, and myrcene,[7] showing similarity to Hyuganatsu's peel profile, though with quantitative differences in concentrations.[7]
=Shigematsu, Yukinori; Kita, Kageharu; Yakushiji, H.; Ishikawa, K (March 2008). "The New Citrus cultivar 'Himekoharu'". Bulletin of Ehime Fruit Tree Experiment Station. 22. Nakata, H.: 5–8. ISSN0389-2867.
