Yuzu and other citrus

boaziko · June 22, 2005

Small world. That exact made (Yu-Zu –Net) is the precious bottle I found in one of the top fish mongers in Tel Aviv. I'm not sure if it is concentrated or preserved juice. Few drops just add so much in perfume and flavor to fish and anything. Love it in Ceviche.

The bottle has 300ML, and got 34 KJL for 100 ML (this, and the expiry date is the only readable info…for someone who doesn't read Japanese)

I'll try to get some seeds and hand it over to an experienced farmer friend to grow. so I have better availability control

Boaziko

torakris · June 23, 2005

Small world. That exact made (Yu-Zu –Net) is the precious bottle I found in one of the top fish mongers in Tel Aviv. I'm not sure if it is concentrated or preserved juice. Few drops just add so much in perfume and flavor to fish and anything. Love it in Ceviche.
Boaziko
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Is yuzu popular in Israel?

boaziko · June 23, 2005

Small world. That exact made (Yu-Zu –Net) is the precious bottle I found in one of the top fish mongers in Tel Aviv. I'm not sure if it is concentrated or preserved juice. Few drops just add so much in perfume and flavor to fish and anything. Love it in Ceviche.
Boaziko
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Is yuzu popular in Israel?
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It is used in some restaurants, not many. (Once when I asked a waiter if the Yuzu juice that was included in one of the dishes was fresh, he replied "sure", but the su-chef could not find the actual Yuzu to be presented to me, the curious customer...) you can't find the fresh fruit in markets or stores, at least I haven't found it yet, somehow I tend to believe that it most be grown somewhere in Israel.

There were some stories in the papers and also in food sites and forums, so at least in the "foodie" section it is popular.

Boaziko

Kiem Hwa · June 24, 2005

I was reading Obasan's Blog where she descibes making Mizugashi and she uses a citrus fruit called Konatsu, where you even eat the white rind (its apparently sweet). She seems to use Konatsu quite a bit in her cooking expeditions.

Konatsu seems to have been developed in Miyazaki Prefecture, as stated in the Kochi City guide website.

Now I'm really curious about this fruit. Has anyone tried it out, and what citrus is it most similar to?

torakris · June 24, 2005

I don't think I have ever seen konatsu before, it looks interesting

torakris · August 2, 2005

Yesterday at Sur La Table I ran across a yuzu vinegar it was $13 for the bottle. It sounding interesting but I balked at spending that much money :hmmm: anyone ever tried it?

EdS · August 6, 2005

I see that my Japanese grocery has small bottles of yuzu juice in the condiments section. Since they don't carry fresh yuzu and I think it's out of season right now anyway, I've been thinking about buying a bottle. I probably won't use much at a time so I am worried about the shelf life. Once I open the bottle, how long does it last? Is it something that will go bad after a week in the fridge or can you keep it around for a while?

EdS · August 7, 2005

It struck me that buying yuzu juice out of a bottle is like buying lemon juice out of a bottle rather than using the actual fruit. I'll wait until it's yuzu season and hunt down some real yuzu.

Kiem Hwa · August 8, 2005

This is the yuzu drink that I love
It is called yuzu komi (koumi) and it is a concentrate made with yuzu juice, honey and sugar. It needs be diluted with 8 to 9 parts water or other liquid.
their homepage
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My sister just got here from Japan with loads of goodies for me including this Yuzu no kome! Cant wait to try it out!!! :biggrin:

JasonTrue · August 8, 2005

It really depends on the quality of the yuzu juice. If you're living in the U.S. you won't have the option (of buying fresh yuzu) unless you know someone who grows it in their backyard or are willing to pay $25-50/lb. Also, supermarket yuzu in the US is probably going to be unripe, even late "in season."

* added text in parentheses for clarity

"RealLemon" lemon juice has added lemon oil and is extremely high heat pasteurized for an obscenely long shelf life at the expense of a clean flavor.

Similarly, there are different ways of packaging yuzu juice.

In the department store basements in Japan, sometimes you can find refrigeration-required low-heat pasteurized yuzu juice that is fantastic. Another notch below that, still very aromatica and clean tasting, is higher-heat pasteurized yuzu juice that is shelf stable until opened. (This is the type that I am planning to import, but I'm still working on some issues with the supplier and with customers).

In Japan you can actually get unripe yuzu juice as a special product and I like it for refreshing drinks, but overall I prefer the ripe type for most applications.

Finally, you have the barely-usable bottles that have about 5-10% salt content, a chemical preservative, and apparently boiled juice. The shelf life is very suitable for the needs of supermarkets, but the flavor is obscured by the salt and preservative taste.

Beyond that, there's one other type of yuzu juice which isn't Japanese, which is fermented yuzu juice from Korea; this is slightly syrupy and tastes best with a lot of soju over ice, but can be mixed with water. To my knowledge this isn't sold in the U.S. or Japan.

It struck me that buying yuzu juice out of a bottle is like buying lemon juice out of a bottle rather than using the actual fruit. I'll wait until it's yuzu season and hunt down some real yuzu.
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Edited August 9, 2005 by JasonTrue (log)

JasonTrue · August 8, 2005

I've tried it at someone else's home. In Seattle it's not always that expensive but Sur La Table keystone prices most of their food products so I think it's $10-11 in most supermarkets here.

It's nice enough, but considering straight yuzu juice has a similar price per bottle in the U.S., it's probably not a great value, except that it's more readily available.

I don't think the yuzu is fermented into a vinegar, I think it's just an essence or small amount of juice (haven't looked carefully at the label). So you might get nicer results by just infusing a bit of yuzu peel and a splash of yuzu juice with ordinary rice vinegar in Japan.

Yesterday at Sur La Table I ran across a yuzu vinegar it was $13 for the bottle. It sounding interesting but I balked at spending that much money anyone ever tried it?
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EdS · August 9, 2005

Thanks, Jason, for the rundown on yuzu juice. Very interesting. By the amount of yuzu-this and yuzu-that I see on menus around here, I'm betting most places are using the low-end yuzu juice. I'll buy a bottle to experiment with but I'd love to give your higher-heat pasteurized version a try when you import it. I bet you'll find plenty of demand.

Edited August 9, 2005 by esvoboda (log)

AmyDaniel · August 10, 2005

Tonight, at a tiny Japanese restaurant in the East Village, I had a great concoction: sudachi-infused shochu mixed with yuzu juice! Really, really delicious!

JasonTrue · August 10, 2005

The ironic thing is these 150-200ml salted, heavily versions aren't necessarily a lot cheaper; they just have a shelf life that's more attractive to distributors and supermarkets.

However, I expect that my retail packaging will likely be a bit more expensive than those ones, because the bottles need to appeal to the supermarkets/food specialty shops whose customers are willing to pay for good yuzu juice. Also it will be cross-promoted with some other yuzu and citrus products.

We're probably going to be buying some less pretty PET bottles for restaurant customers also.

Thanks, Jason, for the rundown on yuzu juice. Very interesting. By the amount of yuzu-this and yuzu-that I see on menus around here, I'm betting most places are using the low-end yuzu juice. I'll buy a bottle to experiment with but I'd love to give your higher-heat pasteurized version a try when you import it. I bet you'll find plenty of demand.
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Amy, I'm quite fond of yuzu and sudachi mixed with shochu. I guess if you have whole sudachi and infuse it for a few months in shochu it could be very nice... I'd probably just use either sudachi or yuzu, but together should be nice also.

Kiem Hwa · August 10, 2005

JasonTrue,

Are you planning to import the yuzu concentrates or the ready to drink Yuzu juices? Shirokiya had imported some ready to drink yuzu juice over here, but it was sooooo expensive... like 3-4$/bottle, that I never tried it, and last time I was there I didnt see it anymore... perhaps it was discontinued. I have see the Korean versions of yuzu juices here, but I dont really care for those ones.... they just cant compare with JAL-Skytime yuzu drink.

I'd be very happy if I was able to get yuzu concentrate in the US! Right now I have to wait for my sister to visit from Japan to get such things :sad: Her next visit will be in..... another year maybe :sad: :sad:

torakris · August 30, 2005

yuzu fanta!

just one word:

yum! :biggrin:

JasonTrue · August 30, 2005

Oh, I somehow missed Kiem Hwa's message.

Yes, I am planning to import straight yuzu juice primarily (except for Korean fermented yuzu juice, I am not aware of a "concentrate", but yuzu juice is quite strong when unmessed with), but the vendor I am working with says they will be able to bottle blends and dressings to my specification as well, so I'm hoping to do a yuzu juice drink. Based on the cost of materials, I have a feeling the pricing won't be much better, though. The main pricingadvantage I'll have is that I'll not be buying from a drink-maker but from a yuzu company.

JasonTrue,
Are you planning to import the yuzu concentrates or the ready to drink Yuzu juices? Shirokiya had imported some ready to drink yuzu juice over here, but it was sooooo expensive... like 3-4$/bottle, that I never tried it, and last time I was there I didnt see it anymore... perhaps it was discontinued. I have see the Korean versions of yuzu juices here, but I dont really care for those ones.... they just cant compare with JAL-Skytime yuzu drink.
I'd be very happy if I was able to get yuzu concentrate in the US! Right now I have to wait for my sister to visit from Japan to get such things Her next visit will be in..... another year maybe
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melonpan · August 30, 2005

*drooooool*

Kiem Hwa · September 30, 2005

柚子皮= Yuzu peel right?

I saw a packaged of dried, sugared yuzu peel at the grocery store (Daiei) today!! I wasnt sure what that third kanji was, but now I know (peel), so I will be going back to buy it soon :biggrin:

The translation on the package for the ingredients list said "orange & sugar" :hmmm: ...good thing I know the kanji for yuzu :biggrin:

JasonTrue · September 30, 2005

Wow... what a stroke of luck. Maybe some yuzu pastries are in your future.

柚子皮= Yuzu peel right?
I saw a packaged of dried, sugared yuzu peel at the grocery store (Daiei) today!! I wasnt sure what that third kanji was, but now I know (peel), so I will be going back to buy it soon
The translation on the package for the ingredients list said "orange & sugar" ...good thing I know the kanji for yuzu
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torakris · September 30, 2005

It isn't very pretty to look at but these sanma (saury pike) filets were incredible. It was a purchased product (frozen) that called them yuzu-shio boshi or semi-dried with yuzu-salt.

Edited October 3, 2005 by torakris (log)

Kiem Hwa · October 3, 2005

柚子皮= Yuzu peel right?
I saw a packaged of dried, sugared yuzu peel at the grocery store (Daiei) today!! I wasnt sure what that third kanji was, but now I know (peel), so I will be going back to buy it soon
The translation on the package for the ingredients list said "orange & sugar" ...good thing I know the kanji for yuzu
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Here is is:)

"Yuzu Chigiri"...what does "chigiri" mean?

Is is a dried yuzu peel with some sugar on it, it is almost candied. It has a nice yuzu flavor:)

torakris · October 3, 2005

chigiri (verb chigiru) means something like to tear into pieces, usually with your hands.

I have never seen yuzu like that before but it looks delicious!

prasantrin · October 17, 2005

I was reading the most recent Kateigaho International, and there was a short blurb on kizu. They describe it as "a mysterious citrus tree that grows unobtrusively in the mountain village of Yasumachi on Kyushu." It has not been widely available Japan, at least not until now. Has anyone tried it? And if so, is it worth searching out and paying Y1365 for 200mL?

torakris · October 21, 2005

I was reading the most recent Kateigaho International, and there was a short blurb on kizu. They describe it as "a mysterious citrus tree that grows unobtrusively in the mountain village of Yasumachi on Kyushu." It has not been widely available Japan, at least not until now. Has anyone tried it? And if so, is it worth searching out and paying Y1365 for 200mL?
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I have never heard of it. Do they describe the taste?

Is the 200ml 100% juice? If so it sounds like a pretty good deal for something so rare..