Yuzu - Use in Japanese Cuisine

Use in Japanese Cuisine

The yuzu's flavor is tart, closely resembling that of the grapefruit, with overtones of mandarin orange. It is rarely eaten as a fruit, though in the Japanese cuisine its aromatic zest (outer rind) is used to garnish some dishes, and its juice is commonly used as a seasoning, somewhat like the way the lemon is used in other cuisines. It is an integral ingredient (along with sudachi, daidai, and other similar fruits) in the citrus-based sauce ponzu, and yuzu vinegar is also produced. Yuzu is often combined with honey to make yuzu hachimitsu (柚子蜂蜜) - a kind of syrup that is used to make yuzu tea (柚子茶) or as an ingredient in alcoholic drinks such as the yuzu sour (柚子サワー). It is also used to make liquor (such as yuzukomachi, 柚子小町) and wine. Yuzu can also be used to make various sweets including marmalade and cake. Yuzu kosho (also yuzukosho, literally "yuzu and pepper"), is a spicy Japanese sauce made from green or yellow yuzu zest, green or red chili peppers, and salt. Slivered yuzu rind is also used to garnish a savory, salty egg-pudding dish called chawanmushi, as well as miso soup.

It is often used alongside with sudachi and kabosu.