Beyond Farming's Green-Skinned Ponkan Fruit Tea Jam Wins One-Star Recognition at the UK's 2019 Great Taste Awards

With the original intention of making good use of "extra-grade" produce from its place of origin, Beyond Farming is committed to creating mellow, flavorful products. Its Green-Skinned Ponkan Fruit Tea Jam received a one-star honor at the UK's 2019 Great Taste Awards, one of the world's four major food awards, in August 2019.

In the 2019 Great Taste Awards competition, more than 400 professional judges conducted blind tastings and evaluations. The judging panel included star chefs, restaurant owners, food manufacturers, food critics, food journalists and food writers, among others. More than 12,772 food products from around the world entered the competition, and Green-Skinned Ponkan Fruit Tea Jam won one-star recognition.，Products that score between 70 and 80 points represent "great taste," and only 38% of entries received certification.

Lin Ya-wen, co-founder of Beyond Farming, said that choosing green-skinned ponkan at the beginning was indeed a bit risky, as its flavor was very different from ordinary jams on the market. But the aroma of green-skinned ponkan itself is extremely rich, which left a deep impression on me and inspired me to use a local green-skinned ponkan flavor to replace the idea of imported Korean yuzu jam!

One judge from the 2019 Great Taste Awards commented on the green-skinned ponkan as follows: whether it is the sweet-and-sour taste with a hint of bitterness, different from ordinary citrus, the flavor of the jam dances skillfully and in balance on the tongue. The person who made the jam has abundant love for fruit. This mellow texture is very different from commercially sold jam with added pectin, and is worth savoring carefully! Winning the favor and recognition of professional judges proves that good ingredients are certainly never alone!

The ponkan trees selected by Beyond Farming are planted on the shady slope of Dadong Mountain in Nanliao, Tainan, on hillside land at an altitude between 300 and 400 m. The large temperature difference between day and night and the cool climate year-round make the green-skinned ponkan moderately sweet and sour. The harvest period is about after the Mid-Autumn Festival each year and comes to an end in December, making it the earliest ponkan to reach the market in the country.

Brother Hou Chun-nan, who has grown ponkan for as long as forty years, stresses that we local farmers insist on not using acid regulators, allowing the ponkan to ripen naturally on the tree. It carries a natural sourness and the sweetness of citrus, making its aroma even richer. Brother Hou has brought his two sons into the work, improving the soil and preventing disease with beneficial bacteria, obtaining traceability certification, and caring for the land in a friendly, low-pesticide way.

Even with such dedicated cultivation, extra-grade produce still appears. Brother Hou says that ponkan commonly suffers from black spot disease and sunburn. Black spot disease is one of the important diseases of ponkan. It does not harm the flesh, but when spots appear on the peel, it does affect the selling price of the fruit. As for sunburn, it causes uneven green and yellow discoloration on the green-skinned ponkan, making it unacceptable to the market. But precisely because photosynthesis is sufficient, the fruit is actually even sweeter and more fragrant!

The Green-Skinned Ponkan Fruit Tea Jam, rated one-star "great taste" by the UK's 2019 Great Taste Awards, one of the four major food awards, is described by Yu Tzu-ang, co-founder of Beyond Farming and also R&D director of the fruit tea jam, who says the process of making green-skinned ponkan jam is complicated. First, the flesh is removed by hand and the seeds are carefully taken out, then suitable peel is selected according to ratio and treated by blanching and candying, before being mixed with the flesh and other ingredients.

In fact, since developing Green-Skinned Ponkan Fruit Tea Jam, there has been continuous discussion with factory professionals, constantly revising the formula, production process and taste, so that the finished jam not only has a distinct citrus aroma and natural pectin, but also retains a slight bitterness, bringing the flavor and color to their most ideal state.

When our ancestors made surplus fruit into jam, it was the best way to preserve fruit, sealing up the season and the terroir along with it. The fruit tea jam made by Beyond Farming carries even more tenderness toward the land, creating a unique and rich flavor!