out of season

Fresh Japanese Yuzu

Name: Fresh Japanese Yuzu
Brand: LE MARCHE
SKU: FREYU1
Price: 25.00 GBP
Availability: OutOfStock

£25.00

Net: 3 Yuzu Japanese Citrus Zest & Juice Fruit

A Japanese citrus prized for its zest and juice rather than its flesh. The aroma — floral, tart, somewhere between grapefruit and mandarin with a sharp top note — comes from yuzunone, a compound found in no other commercial citrus. A little goes a long way.

Yuzu (Citrus junos) is a Japanese citrus fruit — small, rough-skinned, and intensely aromatic. It is a natural hybrid, thought to have originated in central China as a cross between the mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) and the ichang papeda (Citrus ichangensis), and has been cultivated in Japan for over a thousand years. The fruit is rarely eaten as a fresh citrus in the way you would eat an orange or a lemon. Its value is almost entirely in the zest and the juice, both of which carry a flavour profile that no other citrus replicates.

The aroma is the defining characteristic. It sits somewhere between grapefruit, mandarin, and lime, but with a sharp floral top note — sometimes compared to bergamot or lemon verbena — that is immediately distinctive. The compound primarily responsible is yuzunone, a ketone found in the rind oil that does not occur in significant quantities in any other commercial citrus. This is why yuzu smells like yuzu and not like a blend of other things, even though the individual flavour components overlap with fruits most people already know.

The flesh is pale, seedy, and yields relatively little juice — a single fruit might give you a tablespoon at most. The juice is tart and concentrated, closer in acidity to lemon than to orange, and is used sparingly. A few drops into a ponzu, a dressing, or a broth will shift the flavour noticeably. The zest is where the volume of aroma sits and is the part most often used in professional kitchens — finely grated over seafood, into custards and curds, or stirred through a vinaigrette at the last moment.

The fruit stores well in the fridge for up to two weeks. If you have more zest than you need immediately, freeze it — it holds its aroma well from frozen.

Origin: Japan

Ingredients: Fresh yuzu (Citrus junos).

Zest with a microplane directly over the finished dish — the aromatic oils begin to dissipate quickly once grated, so zest at the last moment for maximum impact. Use over seared fish, into dressings, across desserts, or grated into cocktails.

For juice, halve the fruit and press by hand or use a small citrus press. Expect roughly a tablespoon per fruit. The juice is highly concentrated — use it drop by drop rather than by the spoonful. A few drops stirred into soy sauce with a splash of mirin and dashi makes a quick ponzu. It also works well squeezed into hot broths, whisked into a vinaigrette, or added to a gin and tonic in place of lime.

For desserts, yuzu curd is made exactly like lemon curd — juice, zest, sugar, egg yolks, and butter — and the result is more complex and floral than lemon. The zest also infuses well into cream, sugar syrups, or vodka for a yuzu liqueur.

If you have surplus zest, freeze it in a small container — it retains its aroma well and can be used directly from frozen.

Order Cut-Off Times & Delivery Date Selection

Orders placed before 2 PM (Monday to Friday) are dispatched the same day, unless you select a future delivery date at checkout.

Our Delivery Service

We use reliable third-party express courier services and high-quality insulated packaging. While our couriers are generally excellent, occasional delays can happen. We pack everything to stay fresh, even if transit takes a little longer.

Time-Sensitive & Event Orders

Can we guarantee delivery on a specific day? Unfortunately not - we rely on third-party couriers and can't control their schedules. All items leave us in perfect condition with good use-by dates, but final timing depends on the courier.

If your order is for a specific event, let us know in the notes section at checkout. We can often dispatch a day earlier to give you the best chance of timely arrival.

DELIVERY Changes After Dispatch

Once dispatched, your package is with the courier and we're unable to redirect it or change delivery details.

Saturday Delivery

Saturday delivery is available, though please note our couriers don't operate phone support at weekends and our office is closed. For event-critical orders, a weekday delivery gives us more flexibility to help if any issues arise.

Full delivery details and shipping rates: here

Description

Yuzu (Citrus junos) is a Japanese citrus fruit — small, rough-skinned, and intensely aromatic. It is a natural hybrid, thought to have originated in central China as a cross between the mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) and the ichang papeda (Citrus ichangensis), and has been cultivated in Japan for over a thousand years. The fruit is rarely eaten as a fresh citrus in the way you would eat an orange or a lemon. Its value is almost entirely in the zest and the juice, both of which carry a flavour profile that no other citrus replicates.

The aroma is the defining characteristic. It sits somewhere between grapefruit, mandarin, and lime, but with a sharp floral top note — sometimes compared to bergamot or lemon verbena — that is immediately distinctive. The compound primarily responsible is yuzunone, a ketone found in the rind oil that does not occur in significant quantities in any other commercial citrus. This is why yuzu smells like yuzu and not like a blend of other things, even though the individual flavour components overlap with fruits most people already know.

The flesh is pale, seedy, and yields relatively little juice — a single fruit might give you a tablespoon at most. The juice is tart and concentrated, closer in acidity to lemon than to orange, and is used sparingly. A few drops into a ponzu, a dressing, or a broth will shift the flavour noticeably. The zest is where the volume of aroma sits and is the part most often used in professional kitchens — finely grated over seafood, into custards and curds, or stirred through a vinaigrette at the last moment.