Kabocha (1953, 1963, 1982, 1985)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   "Kabocha" is not in OED and not in Merriam-Webster.  There are about 8,000 Google hits.  The earliest Dow Jones database hits (1985) are from the LOS ANGELES TIMES, so I'm just getting ready for it.


   This web food dictionary says "kabocha" is new to the U.S. market:

http://www.internationalrecipesonline.com/recipes/dictionary.pl?3675


   These are the first three NEW YORK TIMES hits:

  11.      Display Ad 35 -- No Title; New York Times (1857-Current file), New York, N.Y.; Apr 13, 1994; pg. C11, 1 pgs

  12.      Making Jicama a Household Word; For new produce, an insatiable market.; By NANCY JENKINS; New York Times (1857-Current file), New York, N.Y.; Feb 27, 1985; pg. C1, 2 pgs

  13.      Adapting American Foods to Japanese Cuisine; Adapting American Ingredients to Japanese Cuisine; By FLORENCE FABRICANT; New York Times (1857-Current file), New York, N.Y.; Oct 6, 1982; pg. C1, 2 pgs

   The 1994 Gristede's supermarket ad has:  "KABOCHA  Grown in virgin soil and naturally irrigated in pure artesian well water in Palas Blancos, Mexico, near the Western Coast.  Kabocha is the preferred squash variety in Japan due to its delightful honey sweet flavor."
   The 1985 "jicama and new produce" article has this photo caption: "Frieda Caplan, who first marketed the kiwi in this country, with, from top, perfumed quince, kabocha squash, pepino, blood oranges and passion fruit."


   JSTOR has:

1.
Comparative Treatment of the Japanese Language III
Johannes Rahder
Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 9, No. 1/2. (1953), pp. 199-257.

2.
The Japanese Popular Christmas: Coping with Modernity
David W. Plath
The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 76, No. 302. (Oct. - Dec., 1963), pp. 309-317.

   The first hit above is probably not English, but the second, on page 311, is worth recording for "'solstice squash' (_toji no kabocha_)."