Fruit Explorer: The Fruit Explorer Catches Yuzu Fever, Part 1 of 2

I mentioned in the citron e-mail (14 Mar 2015) that the popular Korean and Japanese beverage that is mis-named citron tea is actually made not from citron but from yuzu (pronounced yoo-zoo, accent on the first syllable, rhymes with yoo-hoo). While writing the citron e-mail, I inspected a number of citron teas on Amazon to get a good look at the pictures of the fruit on the front of the packages. An unexpected consequence of this browsing was that on 24 Mar 2015 Amazon, which had flagged me as a yuzu fancier, sent me an e-mail with fourteen products, ten of which were yuzu products and none of which were citron products. It's interesting that Amazon knows that citron tea is made from yuzu and has nothing to do with citron. Perhaps Amazon read my citron e-mail. Below is a picture of a yuzu and the top of this e-mail from Amazon, which is as much as I could fit on my screen for a screenshot.

Since I was unlikely to encounter a yuzu in a grocery store, I was not planning on writing more on this citrus fruit. The e-mail from Amazon forced me to re-think this position, and at first I thought that I would slip a few paragraphs on yuzu into the short takes e-mail that was eventually sent on 4 Apr 2015. As the Amazon e-mail led me into the wider world of yuzu, however, I came under the spell of the this charismatic fruit. I came to see that while yuzu is below the radar in this country, it is a significant fruit internationally and deserves a full Fruit Explorer e-mail of its own. If you think that the yuzu is an obscure fruit of no importance and that the Fruit Explorer is overstating, I point out that the Daily Mail touts yuzu as a coming superfruit, and says,"It's been called the world's sexiest fruit and it's a darling of chefs." Remember, you heard it here first--Yuzu

The yuzu originated in China but is now grown in Japan, and it figures prominently in Japanese culture and cuisine. It is a hybrid of the mandarin (7 Mar 2015) and the Ichang papeda (pictured in the kaffir lime e-mail of 21 Mar 2015). This hybrid appeared very early in the history of citrus and became established in the wild, with humans having nothing to do with any of this. Yuzu was taken to Japan in about 710 AD. The yuzu is tiny, about the size of a golf ball, as shown in the picture below. (This picture is from a video that can serve as very brief introduction to the yuzu.) The most obvious characteristic of the yuzu is that it is extremely fragrant; this pungency makes Yuzu popular among aromatherapists. You only get about a teaspoon of juice from a yuzu and sometimes no juice at all..

The yuzu produces a white flower in April and May, which leads to a green fruit in July and August that turns to yellow as it ripens in November and December. A yuzu produces a lot of seed, which is one reason why it produces so little juice. The seeds are used for skin toning.

Yuzu has a tart, lemon-like taste, so you don't eat a yuzu by itself but rather make things from it. Here are pictures of various commercial yuzu food products.

Citron tea. According to Sandra Kim, the citron tea typically is not dried but resembles marmalade, and you dissolve it in hot water.
Yuzu marmalade.
Yuzu kosho, which is a spicy Japanese sauce made with chili peppers.
Yuzu juice, where the bottle in the picture is 100 percent pure Japanese yuzu juice. Caution: This is like lemon juice, not orange juice. Don't swig from the bottle.
Yuzu vinegar.
Yuzu pepper sauce.
Yuzu zest
Yuzu mayonnaise.
Two forms of a yuzu drink.
Fanta yuzu.
Essential oil of yuzu.
Yuzu honey.
Yuzu flavor pearls.
Yuzu chocolates from the Yuzu Chocolate Shop, Ghent.
Marigold yuzu jelly.
Yuzu frozen yogurt.

Some people go ape over yuzu. If you read the Amazon reviews for a yuzu marmalade, you will find that 19 of the 20 reviews give it five stars, and the reviewers praise it immoderately.Yuzu is becoming better known in this country as forward-thinking chefs are making more use of it. Here is a small selection of dishes made with yuzu. Just as with the kaffir lime, you might not be able to make these dishes now because of lack of access to the raw ingredients, but good things come to those who wait.