Kuchinashi (Gardenia jasminoides) is a low-lying evergreen tree much loved by people for its sweet smelling blossoms. It bears reddish yellow fruit in the months of Oct-Nov. The name Kuchinashi (meaning “without mouth”) is said to derive from its fruit having no opening even when it gets ripe. It is also said the name came from Kuchinawa-Nashi. Kuchinawa means snake, and Nashi (a fruit bearing tree) meaning “a fruit only snake can eat (because it swallows food)”.
Since ancient time, Sun-dried Kuchinashi fruit has been used as a natural yellow colorant for its content Crocin which is one of the Carotenoid. Crocin is also one of the components of Saffron, the most well known yellow colorant.
Fermented Kuchinashi fruits can also give bluish colors. Kuchinashi, a known safe colorant in Japan, is widely used for dyeing not only fabrics but also foods, such as giving an appealing clear yellow shade to boiled sweet potatoes, chestnuts, Japanese bean paste cakes, radish pickles and so on. It is also used to dye the “Yellow Boiled Rice,” a local dish of Oita Prefecture in the Southern part of Japan.
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