Yuzu

Yuzu is the Japanese citrus fruit that has made a name for itself far beyond Japan in recent years. The taste sits somewhere between mandarin, lime and grapefruit, with a distinctly floral aroma you recognise at once. At FUDI you'll find yuzu in the forms it is actually used in the kitchen: juice, ponzu, dressing, seasoning, soda and tea.

What is yuzu?

Yuzu (Citrus junos) is a small, uneven citrus fruit the size of a mandarin. It has lots of peel, lots of seeds and little juice, so it is almost never eaten as fruit. The peel and the juice are the point. The fruit originally comes from China, but is grown and used mostly in Japan and Korea, where it is a fixture of the kitchen throughout the winter months.

Can you buy fresh yuzu in Norway?

Fresh yuzu is virtually impossible to get hold of in Norway. The fruit has a short season, travels poorly and is exported in very small quantities. So you use bottled yuzu juice instead – that's how Japanese chefs do it day to day as well. A small bottle lasts a long time, since rarely more than a teaspoon is needed.

How to use yuzu

A few drops of yuzu juice in a dressing, a mayonnaise or a ponzu lifts the whole dish. Yuzu kosho – a paste of yuzu peel, chili and salt – suits grilled meat, ramen and stews. The peel can be grated over fish, and the juice works beautifully in drinks, soda and lemonade. If you want to experiment, a bottle of pure yuzu juice is the most versatile place to start.

Does yuzu taste like lemon?

No. Yuzu is more tangy and more aromatic than lemon, with a bitterness from the peel that lemon lacks. Where lemon is sharp and simple, yuzu is rounder and more perfumed. The two cannot be swapped directly in a recipe, but a little lemon and a little mandarin together comes closest if you're stuck.

See also Japanese food, Asian sauces, matcha, tea and soda.