Japanese Pure Yuzu Juice, 150ml
100% yuzu juice from Kochi, Japan's yuzu heartland, with nothing added. Use it anywhere you would reach for lemon.
This is Okabayashi Kochi Yuzu: pure yuzu juice from Kochi Prefecture in a 150ml bottle, labelled mutenka (無添加), meaning no additives. It is unsalted, so you season it yourself. Yuzu is sharp like lemon but carries a floral, mandarin-like perfume that lemon does not have, and a spoonful is enough to change a ponzu, a dressing or a drink.
Why Chefs Choose This
- Pure juice: 100% yuzu with nothing added, so you control salt and sugar
- Kochi fruit: from the prefecture that grows more yuzu than anywhere else in Japan
- Real aroma: pressed yuzu, not a yuzu flavouring, so the perfume comes through
- Unsalted: many bottled yuzu juices are salted to keep; this one is not, so it works in sweet dishes too
How to Use
- Ponzu: mix with soy sauce, mirin and dashi for a fresh yuzu ponzu
- Raw fish and dressings: in place of lemon over sashimi, crudo or a salad, with a little oil and salt
- Sweet: curds, possets, sorbets, custards and icing
- Drinks: a splash in a highball, a gin and tonic or hot water with honey
Yuzu (柚子) is a hardy Japanese citrus with a thick, knobbly peel and little flesh, grown for its aroma rather than for eating. Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku is Japan's largest producer, and in its mountain villages the juice has long been kept and used like vinegar, known locally as yunosu (柚の酢). Across Japan the fruit marks winter: on the winter solstice families float whole yuzu in the bath (yuzuyu, 柚子湯). In the kitchen it goes into ponzu, yuzu kosho, sweets and drinks, and chefs outside Japan now use it wherever a dish needs acidity with more perfume than lemon gives.
Learn more: What is Yuzu?
What does yuzu juice taste like?
Sharp and sour first, much like lemon, then a fragrant lift that sits somewhere between mandarin and grapefruit, with a faintly floral, almost pine-like edge. It is less bitter than grapefruit and more aromatic than lime. Because the fruit carries so much of its perfume, a small amount goes a long way: a teaspoon brightens a sauce, and too much can take over a delicate dish. Its aroma is at its best cold or added at the end, so add it off the heat where you can.
Product Details
| Type | 100% yuzu juice (柚子果汁), unsalted |
| Brand | Okabayashi (岡林) |
| Origin | Kochi Prefecture, Japan |
| Additives | None (無添加) |
| Volume and Format | 150ml bottle |
| Storage | Cool, dark place before opening. Refrigerate once opened |
| Best Used As | Ponzu, dressings, raw fish, desserts and drinks |
Can I use yuzu juice instead of lemon juice?
Yes, at roughly the same amount or a little less. It is about as sour as lemon, but its aroma is much stronger, so taste as you go. It is best where the citrus is in the foreground: ponzu, dressings, raw fish, curds and drinks. In long-cooked dishes much of the perfume is lost, so add it at the end.
Why is this yuzu juice unsalted?
Some bottled yuzu juice has salt added to help it keep, which makes it hard to use in sweet dishes and throws out the seasoning of a sauce. This one is pure juice, so it works as well in a posset as in a ponzu. Because there is nothing added to preserve it, keep it in the fridge once opened.
How should I store it after opening?
Keep it sealed in the fridge once opened and use it within a few weeks while the aroma is fresh. Fruit solids can settle at the bottom, which is normal; give the bottle a gentle shake before use. Check the best-before date on the bottle for unopened stock.
Ingredients and allergens
Ingredients: Yuzu (citrus juice) 100%.
Allergen information is taken from the manufacturer's label; always check the pack before use.
SKU : S0216