Toyo no Tachibana

Sweets unique to Oita using kabosu which accounts for 99% production of the nation wide harvest

Zabieru Honpo in Oita City, Oita Prefecture, is a confectioner famous for producing their famous confection “Zabieru (Xavier)“. “Toyo no Tachibana” is also their confectionary which is made with Kabosu, a type of citrus fruit.

Wondering how many of us is aware of that Kabosu is actually a specialty citrus fruit in Oita Prefecture.  In 2018, 5,400 tons of kabosu was harvested in Oita out of 5,460 tons in nation wide, that accounts for nearly 99%.

The “Toyo no Tachibana” is an unique and used such overwhelming production volume of kabosu.

The round dumpling is sandwiched between two thin rice crackers, giving it a cute appearance.

The greenish bumps in the red bean paste is kabosu peel and the peel and juice are mixed into the white bean paste and a thin layer of gyuhi, a gummy consistency wraps them.

The refreshing sourness of kabosu goes well with the refreshingly sweet white bean paste.  The confection is wrapped with a thin gyuhi and the texture is like a daifuku, a rice cake. The craker part is like a fu texute, a wheat gluten.  It is a well-balanced confectionary with originality.