We were first introduced to Yuzu, the Japanese citron Citrus ichangensis x Citrus reticulata var. austera while having a celebratory lunch at Boulette’s Larder. Ameryl and Laurie the genius team who create before our very eyes delicious gastronomic delicacies, offer a larder stocked with a rare and unique spices and stock. Yuzu is there bottled ready to go.
Our team seated around a larger communal wooden table (read if you are 10 or less you have the opportunity to break bread with some pretty interesting folks). That is how we met William Kitteridge the South African artist. We ordered the soup of the day and beside this steaming sweet smelling bowl of soup were 2″ x 6″x 1/4″ rectangular sheets of bamboo which we were instructed to gently peel back and who knew! Yuzu! A viscous thin film of gelatinous Yuzu was revealed. Following Ameryl and Laurie’s instructions we slid the sheet of Yuzu into our soup for a delicious and tart contrast to the creamy hot soup. The reverence, delicacy and ingenuity of this offering left us speechless; frankly hard to do!
What is of great interest in our California climate is that Yuzu is a citrus hardy to 4 degrees. We were able to locate beautiful 7 gallon standard Yuzus at the family owned citrus nursery in Fremont California - Four Winds Growers: 510.656.2591. The foliage, a canopy of medium sized dark green leaves-with small yellow fruit-ultimate size.
