It's the babaogan, not the babaogan! This "kindest" spring fruit really makes people happier

In this early spring month of March, a kind of fruit has quietly made it to the hot search list. Many people call it the kindest fruit in the world. They believe that it is not only easy to peel and low in calories, but also juicy and sweet, which allows many people to enjoy its sweet taste. It can also allow some people who are depressed to eat it. The sweet and cool taste can quickly soothe the wounds of the soul, help calm anxious nerves, and reduce some pain.

You must be very curious, what kind of magical fruit is this, and why is it so charming? In fact, this fruit is the pomelo that we often see on the market . So, what kind of fruit is the pomelo, and why can it stand out among many fruits and become people's favorite in spring? Now, let's explore the past and present of the pomelo and experience its unique charm. Maybe you can find the answer you want from it.

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What kind of fruit is the pomelo?

Babagan, a hybrid citrus variety of the genus Citrus in the Rutaceae family, is mainly planted in Sichuan and Chongqing in China. Due to its excellent quality and unique fruit characteristics, it has been frequently loved by consumers in recent years. The fruit of this variety is very different from ordinary citrus varieties. It has many advantages. Not only is the fruit large, seedless, and beautiful in shape, but the flesh is also crisp, tender, and juicy. The peel is separated from the flesh, and the peel is very thin and easy to peel. You can feel the soft feel of the peel. In Sichuan and Chongqing, "soft" is commonly known as "baked", so this variety is called Babagan.

The flesh of the tangerine is orange, high in sugar content, rich in flavor, and rich in amino acids, vitamins, trace elements and other nutrients. It is a special fruit that is both nutritious and healthy. When people eat tangerines, they don't need to use a fruit knife, they can easily peel the entire tangerine peel with their hands. At the same time, the peeled peel will not overflow with a lot of juice to make people's hands sticky, which is more convenient to eat than other citrus fruits.

At the same time, each piece of the Babagan fruit is full of juice, and the flesh is distinct and full, crystal clear. When you take a bite, the sweet juice explodes directly in your mouth, making your mouth as sweet as honey. After these sweet juices enter the human body, they produce a large amount of dopamine, which conveys the message of happiness and joy to the human body, gradually soothes the originally depressed mood of people and soothes their spiritual trauma.

Because the pomelo has such flavor and unique properties, it has become the kindest fruit in people's minds, and it is the first fruit delicacy that many people rush to enjoy in early spring.

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How did the Babagan come about?

However, it is this kind of tangerine, which looks and is almost the same as an orange, that actually stimulates the spring taste buds of many people. How is it cultivated?

In fact, the Pakpak is not a pure-blooded fruit, but a real hybrid. It was developed by 11 Japanese breeders including Yoshida Toshio in 1979 at the Shizuoka Prefecture Fruit Tree Experimental Field in Japan, by hybridizing the Kiyomi mandarin orange and the Ponkan F-2432. It took 17 years to develop a new variety. As soon as it came out, it was called one of the most promising varieties in the 21st century.

Yoshida Toshio and 11 other Japanese breeders set a new breeding goal when breeding new varieties, aiming to cultivate varieties with good taste and easy to eat. At first, they were troubled when choosing hybrid parents. What kind of citrus tree should be selected to achieve the breeding goal of both delicious and convenient to eat? Later, after a lot of material selection, they finally chose Kiyomi Mandarin Orange and Ponkan F-2432 as hybrid parents. Kiyomi Mandarin Orange matures in March and April. The fruit is juicy and has a good flavor, but the peel is rough and difficult to peel. Ponkan F-2432 matures earlier, is easy to peel, has a good flavor, but has a disadvantage of having many seeds.

Therefore, breeders took advantage of the advantages of the two fruit trees, Kiyomi Mandarin Orange and Ponkan F-2432, and began to combine the two. In May 1979, they began hybridization at the fruit tree test site. After more than ten years, they finally cultivated a new variety of mandarin orange with good edible flavor, smooth skin, crisp and tender flesh, juicy and extremely slender, sweet and sour taste, and no seeds. The fruit was registered in 1996. They gave it an intuitive and somewhat literary name: Haru-mi Mandarin Orange, which was taken from the fact that it matures in the spring when everything revives, and it also has the bloodline of Kiyomi Mandarin Orange, so it is called Haru-mi Mandarin Orange.

Due to the excellent characteristics of the cultivated Harumi mandarin orange, it soon became one of the most popular citrus varieties in Japan. The Chinese Citrus Research Institute noticed the excellence of this variety and introduced Harumi mandarin oranges from Japan in 1996, and widely introduced them in many provinces and cities such as Sichuan and Chongqing. Influenced by the dialect culture of Sichuan and Chongqing, the Chinese began to call it "Babagan". Perhaps because the name Babagan is a bit cute and more down-to-earth, as time goes by, "Babagan" gradually becomes a name known to locals and gradually spreads, while few people know the name Harumi mandarin orange.

After more than 20 years of vigorous promotion and cultivation, the Baba orange has grown into one of the main varieties of Chinese citrus. Its sweet taste and rich nutrition are deeply loved by consumers. It has gradually spread across the country and become a shining pearl in China's citrus industry.

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Why can the Babagan capture people's hearts?

In summary, we can see that the successful promotion of pomelo and its rapid capture of market share can actually be attributed to two key factors: easy to eat and delicious.

First of all, the properties of the pomelo make it easy to peel the skin, while the flesh is soft and easy to chew, which makes it extremely convenient for consumers to enjoy it.

Secondly, the sweet taste and rich juice of the tangerine peel are undoubtedly one of the key factors for its success. This delicious taste not only satisfies people's taste, but also stimulates their desire to consume fruit.

As a result, the pomelo has not only quickly become a popular choice in the market, but has also established a good reputation among consumers. As consumers' demand for convenience and taste continues to grow, the status and influence of the pomelo will continue to expand, becoming one of the preferred fruits of more people.

Based on the successful experience of Babagan, we have to admit that as the pace of life accelerates, people's requirements for food are getting higher and higher, and the pursuit of convenience and deliciousness has become one of the main demands of consumers. In this context, cultivating more convenient and easier-to-eat fruits has become the goal pursued by fruit farmers and agricultural scientists. Faced with the change in consumer demand, breeders have also actively responded, and through careful breeding and technological innovation, they have created a series of fruit varieties that satisfy people's appetite.

For example, one of the more famous ones is the improved version of pineapple - pineapple. After the improvement and breeding of breeders, the bromelain contained in pineapple has been greatly reduced. Basically, it does not need to be soaked in salt water and can be eaten directly, eliminating the cumbersome preparation procedures and waiting time, which greatly facilitates consumers. Not only that, there are also seedless watermelons that we usually eat. They used to have many seeds, but they have been improved from generation to generation to become seedless fruits, eliminating the trouble of consumers spitting out seeds. The characteristics of these new varieties of fruits make them the favorite choice of modern consumers, providing them with convenient, delicious and healthy consumption options.

In fact, today's breeders have taken many aspects into consideration in response to the modern consumers' demands for easier-to-eat fruits. In addition to the characteristics of being seedless or with few seeds and easy to peel, some other factors have also been taken into consideration in the fruit breeding process.

For example, scientists are committed to cultivating fruit varieties that are more durable in storage, transportation, and portability to ensure that consumers can easily enjoy the deliciousness of fruit on various occasions; cultivating small or medium-sized fruits to make them easier to eat, without cutting, and can be eaten directly, and can be conveniently carried without producing too much leftovers when eaten at one time. In addition, they cultivate soft and easy-to-chew fruits to reduce the need for chewing when eating. Of course, they will also focus on improving the flavor and taste of fruits to meet consumers' pursuit of quality.

In general, with the changes in lifestyle and the upgrading of demand for food consumption experience, consumers are no longer satisfied with the traditional way of eating. They hope to be able to easily enjoy the deliciousness of fresh fruits during busy working days without spending too much time and energy. Therefore, cultivating more convenient, easier to eat and high-quality fruit varieties has become a common goal of the agricultural science community and fruit farmers.

With the continuous advancement of technology and innovation, we have reason to believe that in the future there will be more fruits that meet human needs appearing on the market, bringing consumers more abundant, convenient and healthier fruit choices. Let us wait and see!

Planning and production

Author: Li Ting, member of China Science Writers Association

Review丨Gu Lei, Associate Professor, Capital Normal University

Planning丨Ding Zong

Editor: Ding Zong and Zhong Yanping

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin