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Japanese fresh fruit served in traditional 'Furoshiki'
Japan
Thursday 08 October 2009
The first Japanese fresh fruit shop opened in Dubai
The first Japanese fresh fruits shop in Dubai, Oishii Nippon (Taste of Japan), opened on a promotional basis at the Jumeirah Centre.
The opening of the shop for Japan’s seasonal fruit demonstrates the Japanese community’s desire to promote their ancient way of giving gifts. Japanese Acting Consul-General Kenji Saito, who inaugurated Oishii Nippon, told Khaleej Timesthat the first fruit store of its kind in Dubai will not only sell Japan’s premium fruit with a host of healing properties but will also show its unique way of selling them in a finely crafted traditional Japanese gift basket known as Furoshiki. He said the fruit shop offers the people of Dubai a new and healthy option of buying fresh fruit, whether for personal consumption or as an interesting gift.
Saito highlighted the innovative fruit cultivation techniques, which earned a good reputation for the Japanese fruit worldwide for their delicious taste and natural goodness.
“The people of Dubai and UAE have the opportunity through this shop to savour the subtle favours of these all-natural products.” Mark Nakada of Kintetsu World Express Sales Inc. tasked by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to promote Japanese food products worldwide, demonstrated to all those present at the opening, the testing of a fruit’s sweetness with the use of a refractometer, a machine that measures the degrees of natural sweetness by squeezing drops of juice from them into it.
“We know we are competing against giant exporters from the US, Brazil and Europe. Our best assurance is quality. We are promoting in terms of quality, not of quantity,” Nakada said.
A Japanese melon tested for its sweetness shows 12.4 degrees as compared to another melon from other countries, which measures only 7.1 degrees. “Tasting is believing,” Nakada said.
He said Japanese fruit are consistent in their shapes and sweetness because after harvesting they are made to pass in a light sensor, a computerised detection of the natural sugar content of a fruit. “I can assure all of you that those we are importing here are tasty, fresh, safe and gives intelligence,” Nakada added.
“Most people all over the world, who have tasted Japanese fruit, have placed high value on their freshness and sweetness because the use of chemicals in Japan’s agriculture is very much controlled and minimised,” he added.
A high percentage of people worldwide only know Japan as among the top exporters of automobiles and home appliances. “We are here promoting our fruit for people in Dubai to see that our agricultural products are as good as our cars, electronics and machines.”
