2026-1-23
(Courtesy of Taiwan Panorama January 2026)
Cathy Teng /photo by Lin Min-hsuan /tr. by Geof Aberhart

 

Ke Ya has brought jams made with Taiwan’s native Nanzhuang orange onto the international stage, sharing this fruit with the world and opening a dialogue between local agricultural products and global flavor memories. (courtesy of Ke Ya)
Ke Ya has brought jams made with Taiwan’s native Nanzhuang orange onto the international stage, sharing this fruit with the world and opening a dialogue between local agricultural products and global flavor memories. (courtesy of Ke Ya)


Despite earning the prestigious Double Gold at the World’s Original Marmalade Awards, Ke Ya’s exploration continues apace. If British jams are rich and robust, and Japanese jams are delicate and refined, then what defines the soul of “Taiwanese-style jam”?


The spirit of Taiwan in an orange

When she learned that the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency had been working for years to restore the critically endangered Nanzhuang sour orange, a traditional Taiwanese bitter orange variety, she found her answer. “From a biodiversity perspective, the extinction of any species is a tremendous loss to the planet.” As someone who processes fruit, she contemplated how to use her expertise to bring visibility to this traditional plant of the Saisiyat people, known to them as katayoe’.


Though the Nanzhuang orange (also known by its Japanese name, Nanshō daidai) is too sour and bitter to eat fresh, processing with sugar transforms it into something extraordinary and captivating. The bitter finish and distinctive tingling sensation left by the boiled orange peel become unforgettable flavor signatures, Ke Ya explains. In 2023 she took her Nansho Daidai Marmalade and Nansho Daidai & Honey Marmalade to compete in the UK, originally hoping simply to create an international record of them. To her surprise, they respectively won silver and gold medals. “Winning the awards is certainly a bonus, but what I really hope for is that people learn about this remarkable citrus from Taiwan, and through the Nanzhuang orange, come to know Taiwan better.” Ke Ya’s decade-plus of mastery is distilled into these jars of jam, presenting not just flavors on the tongue, but a profound reflection of Taiwan’s terroir and cultural conservation.