Think of them as a Fuji with extra personality. Born in Japan and raised in Italy, the Kiku is one of the newest apples to be grown in this country. It’s what growers call a “sport,” a freak mutation from the original variety. In fact, many fruit varieties that we have today are simply “sports” from other varieties, including the Granny Smith, which was a sport from the French Tasmanian Crab Apple and the Cameo, which hails from the Red Delicious.
Luis Braun, an apple grower in Italy’s South Tyrol, was vacationing in Japan when he visited some Fuji apple orchards. The Fuji apple originated in Fujisaki, Japan, in the 1930s — as a sport cross between Red Delicious and Ralls Janet. As he strolled through the Fuji orchard, Braun spotted something different on a single branch of one tree: apples with striped, ruby-red coloring that was different from all the other Fujis. Braun took the branch back to Italy and began grafting it into his orchard. Twenty years later, he had developed what we now call the Kiku, a girl’s name as well as the Japanese word for chrysanthemum, the symbol of the Japanese emperor.
Only a few orchards in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Washington grow the Kiku, so supplies are limited, and prices are very high, $2.99 to $3.49 per pound. As more orchards come into production over the next few years, you can expect prices to drop.
Michael Marks is the marketing manager for FreshPoint.
In the Bins
Star fruit
Florida
$2.99 to $3.99 each
Tips: Also known as carambola, this striking fruit is completely edible, skin, seeds and all. It’s ripe when the skin turns yellow-orange.
Mangoes
Peru, Brazil
$1.49 to $1.99 each
Tips: Ripen this tropical import on the counter, but keep the fruit lightly covered.
Zucchini
Mexico
$1.79 to $2.49 per pound
Tips: Prices have been higher than I’ve seen in several years for these imports, but better supplies are finally bringing prices down.
