Sumo oranges and tangerines are the yokozuna, or grand champions, of the citrus realm. Their aroma and flavor are top-notch — concentrated, sweet and vibrant without the usual acidity, and juicy. And not unlike the gargantuan Japanese sportsmen who are their namesake, these citrus fruit are larger than most other varieties, with bumpy skins and a distinctive nub of skin that resembles the topknot of a sumo wrestler.
Sumo citruses were cultivated by a Japanese grower in Kumamoto, Japan, who crossed a Japanese Satsuma mandarin with an orange to produce fruit that are not just large and delicious, but easy to peel and seedless as well.
Find them for a short time at supermarkets including Don Quijote, Times, Safeway, Whole Foods and Nijiya Market. They’re a bit pricey, at $5 a pound for oranges at Whole Foods and $2.99 per tangerine at Nijiya, but you get what you pay for. Call ahead if you’re looking specifically for an orange versus a tangerine, or vice versa.
Joleen Oshiro, Star-Advertiser
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12th Ave Grill offers game grinds
Need fuel for your Super Bowl party Sunday?
12th Ave Grill is offering ribs by the rack and steak by the pound for pickup Thursday through Sunday. The ribs are guava-smoked baby backs, spice-rubbed and with barbecue sauce on the side, sold in an 11-rib rack for $25, cooked and ready to reheat.
A marinated skirt steak is sold ready to grill or broil at $18 per pound, with a 5-pound minimum.
Side orders to serve 12 to 15 are also on the takeout menu: pineapple coleslaw, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, mashed taro, a smoked ahi crudite platter, roasted beet salad, and desserts of fruit cobbler and lilikoi mochi cake. Prices are $24 to $60.
To order, call 732-9469, 48 hours in advance. Prepayment is required.
Star-Advertiser staff
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Wine-tasting skills earn medal for Kauai native
It takes a lot to ace the advanced exam for wine sommeliers, so you can only imagine the tasting skills involved in earning the top score overall.
Chris Ramelb, wine director at the new restaurant Senia, bested all candidates worldwide who took the exam over three dates in 2016.
This earned him the Johnston Medal from the Guild of Sommeliers.
According to a spokeswoman for the guild, the medal is awarded annually at its Rudd Roundtable, held to prepare just 10 or 12 elite candidates for the final exam they must take to become master sommeliers. The medal is named for Jeff Johnston, primary benefactor for the guild’s education efforts.
Ramelb, 28 and originally from Kauai, was presented the award last week at the conclusion of the roundtable in Napa, Calif. He is the first person from Hawaii to claim the honor.
Next step: the Court of Master Sommeliers’ Master’s Exam, which Ramelb plans to take in July. If he passes, he will join just three other master sommeliers in Hawaii.
Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser
