Yuzu and other citrus

[melonpan]

so the main q i have is, just how big are yuzu? i saw them at the store and they are slightly larger than golf balls. or at least the ones i saw. and theyre green. (kind of like <a href="http://www.openkitchen.net/dic/yuzu.html">this picture</a>.)

i have never seen them before. only read about them. and for some reason, i seemed to think that they were larger, kind of like pomelo.

this korean article about japanese culture talks about how in december yuzu (that is how i translate "yuja"...) is sold in great quantities. and one of the more interesting things to do with yuzu is to stick it in your bath. <a href="http://www.ilboniyagi.com/iyagi/customs/12dongji.htm">the original article</a> has a photo of a bath with yuzu floating around. they look pretty large in that photo, but it is difficult to tell. here she describes the yuzu as yellow, which "according to folklore, is said to be a good colour for keeping spirits away". so when you take a bath with yuzu during winter solstice, its good because of the fragrance and the oils from the fruit keep your skin soft and its good luck.

she also states that they are green in summer and yellow in winter. does that mean that the yuzu that i saw in the store is not quite ripe? are yuzu used in both green and yellow states?

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nishimoto trading company is based (i believe) in the united states (or rather, maybe its based in japan with a branch here) but regardless, they market seasonal gift boxes of food stuffs and flowers.

anyway, they featured citrus fruit for winter and you can see some of what they offer at <a href="http://www.atfresh.com/">http://www.atfresh.com/</a>.

in the latest catalog, i saw a new (to me) fruit called sweetie. its a cross between a grapefruit and a pomelo. anyone had this before? <a href="http://www.sardi.sa.gov.au/pages/horticulture/citrus/citrus_variety_information.htm">this one site</a> says that its awfully popular in japan... ill look out for it in our local supermarkets, both in the american ones and in the korean ones. im curious!

[Hiroyuki]

so the main q i have is, just how big are yuzu?  i saw them at the store and they are slightly larger than golf balls.  or at least the ones i saw.  and theyre green. 

in the latest catalog, i saw a new (to me) fruit called sweetie.  its a cross between a grapefruit and a pomelo.  anyone had this before?

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Just a quick reply.

yuzu are quite small, about five to six cm (two inches or so) in diameter. They are green first and then turn to yellow.

http://www.orenjiha-to.com/1yuzu-ta/

(Japanese only. Just look at the photos).

Sweeties have been around for couple of years now. They come from Israel. Sorry, but I don't know what they taste like; I have never bought them.

[andiesenji]

I bought some green Oroblanco at Ralphs here in Lancaster yesterday, 2 for a dollar. The produce manager had special ordered something for me (citron) and he asked if I had ever tried them when I made my candied peel. I haven't and he showed me where they were displayed and I bought 6. I am making candied peel and the rind of these seems to be quite aromatic so it should make a nice contrast to the other peel colors.

I took a photo and as soon as I can figure out why the computer is not recognizing my camera, I will post it.

[andiesenji]

Here are the photos of the Oroblanco (Sweeties) that I bought yesterday.

I will be starting the candying of the peel this evening, assuming I get done with a few chores I have to do first. I am trying to do them by myself as my housekeeper has longer classes today and won't be home until quite late. I am rather slow at some things because I can't lift much weight and have to rest occasionally.

I am really excited about finding a new citrus with more flavor in the skin for candying.

I have tried pomellos and they are pretty much tasteless.

[andiesenji]

By the way, I have a lot of squash. There was so much piled up in the shed I had to have some brought into the house and every horizontal area in the pantry is full so they had to go onto the floor.

Edited November 5, 2004 by andiesenji (log)

[Hiroyuki]

according to folklore, is said to be a good colour for keeping spirits away".  so when you take a bath with yuzu during winter solstice

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Even today, it's quite customary to do that. I have never heard of that folklore, though. According to several sites, the reason for this is that 'touji' means both winter solstice (冬至) and hot spring cure (湯治). It's also quite customary to eat kabocha (squash) on the winter solstice.

Besides yuzu, sudachi and kabosu are also used for cooking purposes. They are harvested and shipped while they are still green.

http://www.bibisage.com/cooking/shokuzai/2003/0809/09_03.htm

First photo: Kabosu

Second: Sudachi

Kabosu are bigger (100-120 g in weight) than sudachi (25-30g) and are slightly bitter.

Recently, shiikuwaasaa (sp?), a specialty of Okinawa, have become very popular.

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/taira/582820/

[torakris]

take a look at this post in the daily nihongo thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...60entry321560

for more about yuzu, including a picture of the yellow kind.

the post after it talks about sudachi and kabosu.

[torakris]

also from the daily nihongo, on sweetie:

word for 12/4:

スィーティー

suiiteii (sue-wee-tea)

In English this is referred to as sweetie, sweetie grapefruit and sometimes oroblanco. It is a cross between a grapefruit and a pomelo, they are the same size as a grapefruit with green skin but a taste much sweeter than a grapefruit. Though "discovered" in the US, Isreal seems to be the biggest producer. They entered the Japanese market in 1991 on a huge "boom" and were a very popular flavor for gum and candies, sweetie gum is still a popular flavor. Unlike grapefruit which are on the market all year round, the sweeties have a short season running November to February.

* I have eaten this before and wasn't very impressed, I prefer it as a gum flavor....

[smallworld]

Here are the photos of the Oroblanco (Sweeties) that I bought yesterday.

May I ask what you plan to do with all that squash?

Pumpkins couldn't be found this year so I bought four squash to carve as jack-o-lanterns. Only had time for two, so now I have a couple leftover. One is a turban squash and a flattish dark green squash like the two on the left side of your picture. What are these green ones called?

What is the best way to cook my two squash?

[melonpan]

According to several sites, the reason for this is that 'touji' means both winter solstice (冬至) and hot spring cure (湯治).

i love puns like this!

thank you for the links and photos...

[Hiroyuki]

According to several sites, the reason for this is that 'touji' means both winter solstice (冬至) and hot spring cure (湯治).

i love puns like this!

thank you for the links and photos...

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Oh, do you? As a matter of fact, there seems to be another pun associated with it.

Yuzu is similar to yuuzuu (融通) in pronunciation. Yuuzuu has a number of meanings, one of which is 'flexible'.

The idea seems to be "take a yuzu hot bath to become healthy, and live a flexible life".

From here:

http://www.hana300.com/yuzu00.html

(Japanese only)

But I must tell you that I can never be sure if this is true.

[melonpan]

The produce manager had special ordered something for me (citron) and he asked if I had ever tried them when I made my candied peel.

hmmm. is citron the same thing as yuzu?

i do not know if yuzu, yuja or citron are related in anyway or if they all mean the same thing. if i were forced to guess, i would guess that yuja and yuzu are the same fruit and citron is something different... but ive never seen yuja or citron.

it has never occurred to me to place special orders with a grocer. a good idea...

i was having a hell of a time finding candied citron and finally had to order it online. did you have to purchase a box in order for the order to be placed? ive always wanted to make my own yuja jam (partly for the jam and partly to make yujacha)...

[andiesenji]

Citron is a type of citrus but only the rind is used. It has a unique flavor and aroma. The fresh is a world of difference from the commercially candied stuff which is why I like to make my own.

You can see it here which is the place that I just ordered a Kaffir lime tree.

I am considering ordering a citron also. I have a greenhouse that is 12 x 24 but it will have to be expanded if I get any more trees of this size. Fortunately the add on sections are 6 feet (sides, floor and roof) and they just move the end out further. It may require an additional heater as I think the one I have now is for the current air volume.

Anyway, back to the citron. Yes, they will only order it by the box. These were 12 to a box and the fruits are about the size of a grapfruit, just sort of football shaped. I'll try and get a picture later today, when it is a bit warmer and hope that my camera is again speaking to the computer. I had a devil of a time yesterday trying to get it to communicate.

They seldom carry them in regular markets because nowadays no one seems to know what to do with them.

Markets that cater to middle eastern and Israli customers sometimes have them but if you have a good relationship with a produce manager in a supermarket, they can get almost anything if given enough notice. (I also take him jars of my home made bread and butter pickles and my candied ginger which helps a bit... )

I guess yuja and citron are the same. I googled yuja and got this site with a recipe for citron tea.

The other site google listed is

this one and refers to "omija" but I am not sure which item would be the yuja link.

Edited November 6, 2004 by andiesenji (log)

[torakris]

I found this picture of yuja:

http://www.yes4416.co.kr/kwangju/goh_festival.html

and it looks exactly like the Japanese yellow yuzu.

most of the citron pictures I have found look more like a lemon?

http://images.google.com/images?q=citron&h...ja&start=0&sa=N

I have never seen a citron so I am not sure....

[Hiroyuki]

yuzu are quite small, about five to six cm (two inches or so) in diameter.

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I underestimated the size of yuzu.

My parents, who live in Chiba prefecture, sent us a box full of fruit, vegetables, and other foods. Among them were seven yuzu, the smallest of which was 5.5 cm in diameter and the biggest 7.5 cm.

[torakris]

I love kinkan (kumquats), I have a tree this year that was given to me by a neighbor who moved away and didn't have a place to put it. The fruits are still dark green and thumb sized but I am eagerly awaiting.....

[torakris]

last night I grilled some yuzu flavored tsunagimo (gizzards)

I marinated the gizzards with yuzu slices as well as some juice, with soy, mirin, sake, garlic and dried chiles, then grilled them and topped them with yuzu zest!

the picture looked clearer when I took it.....

[torakris]

The other day in the store I ran across shishi yuzu (獅子ゆず), or lion yuzu. These are huge about teh size of small melon and just downright ugly.

http://portal.nifty.com/special03/12/03/img/078_8.jpg

The sign over the box they were in said they are normally used for decoration but could also be used for marmalade.

Anyone ever used them for food before?

[Kiem Hwa]

I really like Yuzu drinks... I discovered this on JAL, which serves a yuzu drink that I drank the entire flight:

http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inflight/inter/topics/skytime.html

How come yuzu drinks are so expensive?? There is a new import yuzu drink (the only one I could find here) which is like a normal-sized bottled beverage (~500ml), that costs like 3-4$!!!!

Is yuzu so special? I think I should find myself a tree and grow my own.....

[alacarte]

When I went to Japan (flying JAL), all I drank was that Yuzu drink on the flight. I've been hoping to buy some, but I can't find it anywhere. Now that I'm back home, I've been scouring the Japanese grocery stores but still no luck. The closest I've found are "lemon squash" drinks.

Too bad JAL doesn't sell its Yuzu "sky time" drink via the Internet. Or perhaps they do, and I haven't found it yet. It would make an awesome cocktail mixer.

[Kiem Hwa]

Quote from the ponzu thread by Hiroyuki.

Slightly off topic, the mere words 'yuzu juice' made my mouth water! Very tempting!

http://www.orenjiha-to.com/2umaji/

On this page, they show some small Yuzu drinks (ゆずジュース), a 120ml bottle for 120円 or a 24-pack for 2,800円. I see you can order online, but I wonder how much they charge to ship to the US? I see it is already 1680円 to ship to Hokkaido....

Have you seen these types of drinks in the store in Japan? What kind of stores? I am going to buy me a case next time I come (If I can find it....)

I wonder if any other brands besides the JAL Sky Time Yuzu juice have Nigari added?

[Kiem Hwa]

Is yuzu so special?  I think I should find myself a tree and grow my own.....

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I just ordered Yuzu seeds online! Apparently, they are one of few citrus that will grow from seed. Hopefully they are in stock. I guess I will find out if Yuzu will grow well in Hawaii

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/order.htm

[torakris]

The catalogue from the co-op I order from had JAL's yuzu drink in it last week. I don't remember how much it was just that it was expensive. A friend of mine here orders a concentrated version that needs to be diluted with water and is just wonderful, but also pricey...

[Hiroyuki]

Is yuzu so special?  I think I should find myself a tree and grow my own.....

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I just ordered Yuzu seeds online! Apparently, they are one of few citrus that will grow from seed. Hopefully they are in stock. I guess I will find out if Yuzu will grow well in Hawaii

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/order.htm

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Do you know how long it will take for the seeds (or seedlings?) to bear fruit?

A quick google search tells me that it takes nine to eighteen years!

from here

http://knowledge.yahoo.co.jp/service/quest...70&flag=2&burl=

(Sorry, Japanese only)

Edit to add (or seedlings?) in the text above.

Edited January 20, 2005 by Hiroyuki (log)

[Hiroyuki]

I wonder if any other brands besides the JAL Sky Time Yuzu juice have Nigari added?

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I only did a quick google search, and I couldn't find any other yuzu drink that contained nigari (bittern). It may be a special ingredient of that particular product only.

I used the word 'juice' carelessly in a previous post; I should have referred to such products as yuzu-ade or yuzu drink rather than yuzu juice. Although I would love to have such a drink, I think it's ridiculous that none of the products I found on the Internet clearly indicate the percentage of yuzu juice in them. I would rather buy a bottle of 100% yuzu juice, such as the one here

http://shop.ehime-iinet.or.jp/category/goo...3570&sbunrui=10

and dilute it with water to make my own yuzu drink!