Nature's Candy

Imagine… row after row of plump, glistening grape clusters in handsome shades of purple and red beckoning the local forager weary from the summer’s unrelenting heat. Mounds of watermelons ranging from the size of a small continent to no bigger than your palm are lazily gathered in boxes, plump & practically bursting with the sweet promise of delightful refreshment to ease humidity’s sting. The crowning jewel of this bonanza are the flawless peaches, blushing ever so slightly as they peek over their crates. Such was the scene that unfolded before me every week this summer as I jauntily bicycled past concrete piers and sandstone apartment buildings to our friendly local fruit & vegetable stand.

Although I admit that vegetables have their place in this world, and even that I enjoy the taste of a few of them, it’s the fruit group that inevitably catches my eye. Unlike the typical state-side supermarket, the Japanese grocer is concerned with the freshness and quality of his or her produce. My opinion of the current USA fruit industry (mass growth, mass chemicals, mass transportation, for sale two months before anything is actually ripe) has long been jaded by one-too-many deceitful peaches (the ones that look appealing but end up leaving you with a mouthful of pulp the taste and consistency of soggy cardboard), but the Japanese have restored my faith in the possible production of quality produce at decent prices.

Pricing is of course relative to your location. Paying the equivalent of $1.00 per piece of fruit (different than per pound) probably seems pricey to those of us who are used to the King Soopers & Walmarts of the world. But, when compared to the 1000 yen or the 4000 yen cantaloupe melon (yes, that’s right, $40 for an average-sized melon), the 100 yen pricing suddenly seems like quite a deal. I can also attest to the fact that the cheaper fruit tastes no worse than its expensive cousin (I gave in and bought one of the outrageously priced melons I mentioned earlier… tasted just like every other cantaloupe I’ve ever had…) The moral of the story? While you quite often get what you pay for, just buy the 100 yen fruit. It still tastes like good fruit should.

This Japanese fanaticism for quality produce *can* go to an unreasonable extreme. Not only are they concerned with quality and freshness, but with appearance as well. Case in point- produce with cosmetic blemishes (taste intact) are often discounted considerably. Simply no one will buy the misshapen strawberry because it does not appeal to the eye as well as the taste buds… well, no one but one of four resident foreigners who’s perfectly content to slice said strawberry and close her eyes while savoring the taste. This doesn’t happen often however- vendors do their best not to buy the cosmetically-challenged fruit in the first place.

As the seasons change, so does the selection, with the most reasonably priced pieces being the fruits naturally in-season. The coming of fall has brought out the best of Asian pears, persimmons, and apples. While a part of me wishes some fruits were available year-round, I can’t say I’m too disappointed by their seasonal replacements. I’ve been encouraged to try something new (I can’t remember the last time I had a persimmon) and, out of necessity, change up our weekly menu to take advantage of the seasonal stock. It’s been a good way to practice the ever useful tool of “flexibility”, a blatant survival technique whenever one moves away from familiar surroundings.

It’s only a matter of time before winter starts knocking at our door. I wonder if the produce shops will close down and if fresh fruit & veggies will disappear from the markets until spring arrives. Larger supermarkets will probably charge an arm and a leg for the imported produce they’ll inevitably stock. Trees, bushes and plants will slumber underneath a blanket of white across the land…

Oh well, canned fruit isn’t *so* bad.