🍚 Mikan Zushi (Japanese Mandarin Sushi)

Mikan (=Japanese mandarin) grown in Ehime receive a lot of sunlight and are exposed to the sea breeze. The prefecture is one of the top producers of this fruit in Japan. The natural climate in Ehime makes the sweetness and acidity of the mikans a perfect balance. The prefecture faces the Seto Inland Sea and mikan flowers growing in the terraced fields is a beautiful sight to see. Rice vinegar was scarce in the southern areas of Ehime and so aromatic juice from citrus fruits such as kabosu and mikan were used in place of vinegar to make dishes such as "mikan zushi." It is said to have its roots in “mikan gohan” (rice with mikan), which was made from mikans that could not be sold to the market. Local schools serve rice cooked with tangerine juice for lunch and this became a hot topic throughout Japan. People began to believe that mikan juice came out of the faucets in Ehime prefecture. There are in fact a few faucets that have mikan juice flowing out of them, such as those at the Smiley Ehime Official Souvenir Shop or at Matsuyama Airport.