Fruit Jams of Yamanashi - Traditional Foods in Japan | Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

YamanashiFruit Jams of Yamanashi

Classification (Large)

Agricultural products

Classification (Small)

Other processed agricultural products

Main ingredients used

Japanese plum and other kinds of fruit, sugar, lemon juice

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Region of inheritance

Minami Alps City, Yamanashi Prefecture as a whole

Product overview (special characteristics and types)

In Yamanashi Prefecture, the kingdom of fruit trees, the abundance of locally grown fruits have been used to make jam, which can be stored for a long time, in households and eaten throughout the year. Yamanashi Prefecture, especially Minami Alps City, is Japan's largest producer of Japanese plums as well as peaches and grapes. Kiyo plum, a variety registered in 1996 after more than 40 years of improving it, originated in Takaishi Kiyo En, a farm located in Minami Alps City.
The harvest season for Kiyo and other varieties of Japanese plum is July to August. Different varieties of peaches, grapes, and yuzu citrons ripen and are harvested one after another during this season; some of these fruits are shipped, and others are processed into jam. Among these fruits are Kyoho grapes, the king of all grapes.

History and culture

To make jam as a preserved food, fruit growers use non-standard fruits and sugar, which has the property of taking moisture from bacteria that causes fruits to decay, as salt does. Originally made for the makers themselves on a routine basis, jam came to be produced for sale.
It is said that Japanese plums were introduced to Japan from China during the Nara Period (there is also a theory that it was introduced during the Yayoi Period), and a poem composed on Japanese plums is included in the Manyoshu (the first major anthology of early Japanese poetry). Growing of Japanese plums spread across Japan during the Edo Period, and in Yamanashi Prefecture, is said to have started when seedlings of the fruit were brought back from Nagasaki Prefecture during the Kaei era of the Edo Period around the mid-19th century. In the Meiji Period, the entire area currently known as the Ochiai region in Minami Alps City became known as a Japanese plum production area. Between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s, some paddy fields and mulberry fields were converted into fruit gardens, some of which planted Japanese plum trees. Following this, Japanese plum growing spread from the Kyoto region (Yamanashi City, Fuefuki City, and Koshu City) to the entire prefecture. Currently, Minami Alps City boasts of Japan’s largest yield of Japanese plums.
Most varieties of Japanese plum are self-incompatible or do not pollinate the same variety, and so require trees of another variety to pollinate. This is also true of Kiyo plum, which takes much time and care to produce as artificial pollination may be performed to ensure that an adequate number of fruits are produced.

Production method

Place chopped fruit and sugar into a pot and boil them down over low heat. Meanwhile, disinfect the bottles and caps in the boiling water. Once the fruit has boiled down, add lemon juice, and remove the elements that produce a bitter taste while frequently stirring the mixture with a spatula so as not to burn it. Once it begins to exhibit jam-like stickiness, turn off the heat, and store it in the bottles that you have disinfected and dried.

Conservation and succession efforts

As a leisure activity, you can enjoy peach picking or grape picking. Some fruit gardens sell hand-made fruit jams or compote (fruits in syrup).
In the town station Machi-no-eki Kushigata, hand-made jams are sold at the morning market, and you can also experience jam making using various fruits in different seasons, such as Japanese plums in July and grapes in August.

Main consumption method

Fruit jam may be spread over bread, added to yogurt, or eaten as a dessert in other ways. Adults may enjoy a fruit jam imbibed with several drops of rum, a complement to fruits.

At-home recipes：Yogurt with Fruit Jams of Yamanashi

Ingredients

Fruit Jams of Yamanashi

2 tablespoons

Yogurt (containing no sugar)

200g

Mint leaves

As needed

How to make

Put the yogurt into a dish, add jam, and garnish with mint leaves.