Press Release from Taoyuan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, Ministry of Agriculture
The Fresh Face of Citrus: Pioneering New Horizons in the Citrus Industry
April 5, 2024
In recent years, the popularity of Korean dramas has sparked an interest in Korean culinary culture within the country, with Korean dishes and pomelo tea becoming increasingly popular. However, domestic pomelos, when cooked, tend to develop a bitter taste. Taoyuan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station of Ministry of Agriculture (hereinafter TYDARES)spent a year screening dozens of domestic citrus varieties to find those suitable for making pomelo tea. TYDARES successfully developed Taiwan's first "Sanbao Citrus Fruit Tea Jam" pomelo tea, which is refreshing and made with natural ingredients. Additionally, they utilized the peel of the Sanbao citrus to create candied fruit peel, which is chewy and sweet, potentially pioneering a new frontier in the citrus industry.
TYDARES notes that the labor-intensive preprocessing steps of peeling, deseeding, and debittering citrus fruits mean that most citrus varieties grown in Taiwan are intended for fresh consumption. To overcome the challenges of citrus processing, TYDRES screened dozens of domestic citrus varieties and selected the "Sanbao Citrus," which retains a fresh flavor even after heating. Using a simple seed removal and low-temperature extraction technique, they developed the Sanbao Citrus Fruit Tea Jam as the base for Taiwan's first naturally flavored and ingredient-simple pomelo tea.
TYDARES points out that while people in Taiwan typically peel and eat the flesh of the Sanbao citrus, which looks like a pomelo and has a thick peel, the discarded peel is rich in pectin. Using debittering and low-temperature extraction techniques, they effectively extracted the Sanbao citrus pectin to add to the fruit flesh, making a fruit tea jam without needing thickening agents. Furthermore, the thick peel of the Sanbao citrus is ideal for making candied peel, which has a lemony fragrance and a chewy, sweet taste, promising to be a future star in the citrus world.
TYDARES emphasizes that the new processing techniques for Sanbao Citrus Fruit Tea Jam and candied peel produce products with fresh flavors and simple ingredients, offering new creative material options for the beverage, baking, and frozen dessert industries. The technology has already been licensed to the industry on a non-exclusive basis. Interested parties are welcome to contact Assistant Researcher Pei-Chun Jen at TYDARES. Contact information: 03-4768216, extension 253.
Contact Information：
Spokesperson and Deputy Director: Yang-Jen Fu, Tel: 03-4768216 ext. 101, Mobile: 0919872010
Crop Improvement Section: Assistant Researcher Pei-Chun Jen, Tel: 03-4768216 ext. 253
Fig. 1. The fresh flavor of Sanbao citrus fruit primarily dominates the domestic market as a fresh food item.
Fig. 2. The peel of Sanbao citrus is rich in pectin, making it an excellent material for making fruit tea jam and candied fruit peel.
Fig. 3. Sanbao citrus products are expected to become the rising stars of the citrus industry.
