
The other week when I was at my local HEB, I was amazed to find Sumos hiding in a little side display by the bananas. I don't remember how much they were, but they weren't cheap, and they looked absolutely terrible. The peels were bumpy and puffy, typical of overripe citrus, and many were clearly bruised up and battered. Still, not being able to resist, I bought 10 of them and brought them home in the hopes that I might find a seed. When citrus is called "seedless", that doesn't always mean 100% seedless, and occasionally seeds can still occur. I peeled and carefully examined the segments from all 10 of the fruits, but unfortunately didn't find any viable seeds. I found some very tiny, immature seeds, but nothing that I could plant and expect to germinate. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. The fruit is too expensive to keep trying, and even though there are many people selling Dekopon seeds on eBay, I don't trust any of them.
Seeds or no seeds, I really like the Dekopon. The fruits are round with a pronounced bump on one end like a Minneola tangelo, and are very easy to peel. Inside, they have a hollow core surrounded by the segments, which are in turn encased in very thin, easy to eat membranes. The flesh is very juicy and soft, again very similar to a Minneola tangelo, but slightly firmer in texture. The flavor is very sweet with just the right amount of acid to balance it, and reminds me of the citrus drink Sunny D. I have to agree with Mr. Karp, the fruit has an excellent flavor. They definitely won the approval of the boys, who gobbled up all they could get. If they're that good from HEB, just imagine how good they would be right off the tree!