Japanese Grapes (2004-10-01)
September is the start of autumn here. Besides cooler weather, a whole host of seasonal food begins to emerge on the market such as grapes, persimmons, matsutake (a kind of mushroom), chestnuts, ginko nuts and sauries, just to name a few.
KL likes Japanese grapes a lot. They are, like many locally
grown fruits, are much bigger in size than the average black grapes,
especially the imported kind. These grapes are called kyohou
which means Giant Mountain, the name aptly describes their size.
They are such a favorite of Japanese people that they are also made
into ice-cream, juice, jam, cake and candies etc.
I hate them. I have never tasted grapes that taste nothing
like grapes but chemicals. Yes, call me strange but these famous
Japanese grapes taste exactly like paint thinner to me. Not that
I have eaten paint thinner, but their taste reminds me of the acrid and
mephitic smell of that liquid chemical. May be it's not just my
mind, my taste buds are twisted too.
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