Yuzu kosho adds welcome fire to winter dishes
The fresh aroma of yuzu citrus and the sharpness of piquant chilies create yuzu kosho, a seasoning that accentuates the taste of nabe, or one pot-meals, an increasingly common dinner in Japan as the weather turns cooler.
Yuzu kosho is produced virtually everywhere in Kyushu. Oita Prefecture in particular boasts a number of producers and is thought of as the home of yuzu kosho.
Farmers in mountainous areas have long used citrus peel to produce the seasoning, but there’s no clear record of who first made it or when.
In early October, I visited a farm run by the Kushino-Nouen agricultural company in Usa, the city boasting the prefecture’s top yuzu production. The farm occupies a number of terraces at the top of a steep mountain path. There, several people were carefully picking green citrus fruits that were 3 to 5 centimeters in diameter.
The company maintains 1,200 yuzu trees, which are planted at its three farms in the city.
Company representative Masaharu Kushino, 62, said: “Green yuzu have a better scent than fully ripened ones. The summer weather was good this year, so we harvested some fine yuzu for this season.”
Green yuzu are brought to a nearby factory. Machines peel off the fruits’ skin in thin layers, after which it is minced and packed in salt. The resulting substance is aged in cold storage for up to six months.
The minced yuzu skin is then mixed with green chilies. In Kyushu those chilies are often called kosho, a word that also means pepper. Chilies grown on the farm in the city are lightly mixed with salt by machine, put into storage for about six months, and then further grated before being stored again for more than six months. Mixed with salt, the pepper develops a mild taste.
Finally, the aged yuzu skin and chilies are mixed together and ground to bring out their flavor. The proportion of yuzu and chilies to be mixed differs from one producer to the next. At Kushino’s company, it’s about 50-50.
Yuzu kosho shipments will surge after November, when people begin hankering for winter comfort food like nabe.
I sampled some of Kushino’s yuzu kosho. The instant the jar was opened, I smelled a fresh aroma. It tasted less spicy and salty than I expected.
Kushino’s family has made yuzu kosho since his grandmother’s time, he said.
Kushino’s wife Yumiko, 62, said: “We always have yuzu kosho chazuke [rice with green tea] when we’re busy with farming. The fiery pepper stimulates our appetite.” Yuzu kosho is also made from yellow and red chilies.
Yuzu kosho is an all-round seasoning; it’s also good when mixed into mayonnaise and can be used for salad.
“Yuzu and chilies create a fine balance. It can even be eaten by itself with sake,” Kushino said.