Yuzu is an intensely perfumed Japanese citrus valued for its rind and tart-sweet juice. It has a unique fragrance and flavor and is used in Japanese cuisine.
Yuzu (柚子) is a small yellow or green citrus fruit that’s highly prized in Japanese cuisine for its intensely aromatic zest and floral, tart-sweet juice. The zest retains its sourness even when cooked at high temperatures. It’s been used for centuries in Japan and Korea and is thought to have originated in China.
The Japanese also use it in non-food products such as perfumes, soaps, and cosmetics and add it to the Toji bathwater (Winter Solstice). The Japanese believe soaking in a yuzu bath helps increase circulation, heal dry skin, and prevent sicknesses.
Table of Contents
What Is Yuzu?
Yuzu (Citrus junos) is a citrus fruit that’s slightly flattened, about 5–10cm/2–4 inches in diameter. It’s a hybrid between the satsuma mandarin and the ichang papeda. The peel is thick and pebbly with lots of oil glands. There’s very little juice and lots of seeds inside. The unripe fruit is forest green and matures to sunshine yellow when ripened.
Japanese cuisine places great emphasis on color and aroma, and yuzu is often the magical ingredient that elevates many dishes. It’s an expensive fruit outside of Japan, so consider yourself lucky if you can find it fresh!
What Does It Taste Like?
The juice tastes like a complex blend of sour, sweet, and floral flavors. It’s a good combination of tart lemon, bitter grapefruit, sweet orange, and fragrant pomelo. The taste is more complex than the juice of lemon or lime.
How To Use Yuzu in Cooking and Baking
The Japanese add this distinct citrus fruit to flavor their savory dishes, sweet desserts, and beverages. We typically use only the aromatic zest and juice instead of eating the flesh since it contains many seeds, thick membranes, and less edible flesh.
Here are some ways to enjoy this ingredient in your food and drinks:
- sauces – make ponzu, a citrusy and umami-rich dipping sauce for Japanese hot pot dishes
- dressings – whip up a delicious vinaigrette and miso dressing
- marinades – add to a marinade for grilled fish or grilled beef
- chili paste – make the popular fermented citrus chili paste yuzu kosho
- marmalades, jams, and syrups – make a delicious marmalade to enjoy on toast and add to beverages, baked goods, and teriyaki sauce
- cold beverages – make a chuhai Japanese cocktail, mocktails without alcohol, and green smoothies
- hot yuzu tea – stir a few dollops of yuzu marmalade into hot water
- soups – use the zest to garnish clear soup, udon noodle soup, and ozoni (Japanese mochi soup) or stir yuzu kosho into miso soup
- pickles (asazuke) – Add the zest to crunchy Japanese asazuke to take these everyday pickles to the next level
- chawanmushi (steamed savory custard) – garnish with julienned zest
- grilled fish, meat, and dumplings –serve pan-grilled yellowtail, hamburger steak, and gyoza with yuzu kosho
- baked goods – add the zest and juice to pound cake and chiffon cake
- frozen desserts – make yuzu sorbet and ice cream to refresh the palate at the end of a meal
How To Choose The Best Fruit
Yuzu is a very precious and expensive fruit outside of Japan, and it’s not easy to find it fresh in the United States. You might find it in the wintertime at Japanese grocery stores and local farmer’s markets.
- Pick fruit that are fresh-looking, aromatic, and blemish-free. The bumpy rind often has scarring caused by the sharp thorns of the yuzu tree, and this is completely normal.
- Choose yellow yuzu for juicing. The ripened, golden fruit should feel slightly spongy and airy when pressed from the outside. It’s not hard and plump like a lime or lemon.
- Green yuzu is unripened and extremely firm with a tiny amount of juice. It has a more refreshing and sharp aroma than when ripened.
How To Prepare and Cut Yuzu
- Gently wash it with a scrubber like a tawashi, the Japanese scrubbing brush for fruits and vegetables
- Cut the fruit in half crosswise
- Discard the visible seeds
- Squeeze the yuzu juice.
- Save the peels to collect and store the yuzu zest in the freezer
How To Store Fresh Yuzu
- Fresh whole fruit: While you can keep them at room temperature, yuzu are best stored in a paper bag in the fridge, where they’ll last about two weeks. To extend its storage, thickly peel the zest into sections, wrap them in plastic wrap, and then store them in a resealable plastic bag. You can also keep the whole fruit in the freezer.
- Juice: Refrigerate the fresh juice in a jar or freeze it in ice cube trays to use later. This fruit has little juice and lots of seeds inside, so you can get about ½ cup of freshly squeezed juice from about 5–6 ripe fruit.
- Zest: Cut the peel into quarters, remove the bitter pith (the white part), thinly slice (julienne) the zest, and freeze it in a freezer bag. It keeps frozen for a month without sacrificing freshness, although you can still keep it up to a half a year or so and enjoy it even if it looses some aroma and flavor over time. To use the frozen zest, there’s no need to thaw it. Simply break off the portion you need for your recipe.
Yuzu Products
Check out these shelf-stable products to add zesty floral flavors to your cooking.
1. Yuzu Extract /Juice
Drizzle yuzu extract on grilled fish or meat for a refreshing palate cleanser, like how you use lemon in your cooking.
2. Freeze-Dried Yuzu Zest
Drop a few strands in clear soup or as a garnish on hot tofu to elevate the aroma and flavor.
3. Yuzu Kosho
Yuzu kosho is a fiery fermented spice paste made of yuzu peel, green chili peppers, and salt. It is a condiment for hot pot dishes, miso soup, sashimi, and sauce/seasonings/dressings.
4. Yuzu Tea (Yuja Cha, Citron Tea)
Dissolve a few spoonfuls of yuzu marmalade to make yuzu tea, a sweet and citrusy non-caffeinated tea. It’s rich in vitamin C and citric acid, an excellent cold remedy.
Where To Buy
You can purchase the fresh citrus during winter at Japanese grocery stores, some specialty stores, and farmer’s markets. Some online stores sell it, too.
You can find many of the products listed above at Japanese, Korean, and Asian grocery and specialty food stores.
You can even grow it in your garden! I have been growing my yuzu tree in California for a few years.
Yuzu Recipes
How To Substitute
You could use Meyer lemons for similar fragrant citrus fruit.
Health Benefits
Yuzu is an excellent source of vitamin C, which helps boost the immune system and promote collagen. It also contains carotenoids, flavonoids, and limonoids, antioxidants, which may improve blood flow, fight cancer cells, and promote heart health.
The aroma may also have some benefits when used in aromatherapy. Studies have shown that it can lower tension, anxiety, anger, and fatigue and improve concentration, productivity, and energy levels.
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