1.
calyx; the green cap and stem end of a fruit
The small leafy cap where the stem joins a fruit such as a tomato, persimmon, eggplant, or strawberry. In cooking it is the part you cut or pull off before eating.
Written 蒂 or 萼 in kanji, but almost always kana. A kitchen word rather than a botanical one; the technical term is 萼.
Common collocations
- へたを取る: to remove the calyx
- へたを切り落とす: to cut off the stem end
- へたが付いたまま: with the calyx still on
- へたが青い: the calyx is green (a freshness sign)
Usage
A green, firm へた is the standard way of judging whether a tomato or persimmon is fresh, so the word turns up often in shopping and cooking advice.