October has just begun. In Japan, it heralds the approaching harvest of the yuzu from Kôchi Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku. The first green yuzu, grown in open fields, are already adorning plates that showcase market cuisine.
Meeting a yuzu grower
I discovered Kôchi 5 years ago, a mountainous area facing the ocean, renowned for concentrating more than half of Japan's yuzu tree cultivation.
Our field of yuzu trees.
In 2011, everyone maintained that the product was banned from export to Europe. After checking the relevant texts, I had to face the fact that this was a misconception. For the fruits to be exported, they must meet specific standards regarding pesticide residues and be cultivated and harvested in an area free from predatory insects, such as the citrus fly for example.
A grower, Mr Tadokoro, had just planted his hillside plots at altitude, favouring a reasoned approach to farming (pruning and fertilisation without the use of pesticides), free from excessive pesticides and fungicides. He decided to trust me and dedicated his entire crop to me.
Olivier Derenne and Mr Tadokoro.
The cultivation of yuzu
Grafted trees (yuzu grafted onto wild mandarin rootstock) are cultivated in open fields and produce their first fruits after 6 years.
The fruit, at full ripeness, takes on a golden yellow colour, weighs between 140 and 200 g, has a thick skin and a very large number of pips (up to 20–25 pips) and yields only 15 to 18% juice.
The yuzu tree is thorny (thorns up to 5–6 cm long). Unlike fruits grown in greenhouses, and therefore treated with pesticides, which have a perfect shape and unblemished skin, field-grown yuzu has a more rustic appearance, with the skin showing unsightly, slightly scaly blackish marks. These marks are normal and reflect the stress of the tree and fruit caused by bad weather, intense heat… They can be removed with a fingernail and in no way affect the quality of the fruit; on the contrary, they are proof of the authenticity of a fruit grown properly.
Our yuzu come from Kitagawamura, a small mountain village, unquestionably, according to the Japanese, the finest in Japan.
The yuzu is a citrus fruit of the Citrus junos family.
Originating from China, its cultivation began in Japan 1,300 years ago, during the Nara era (710–794 AD). Japan produces 20,000 tonnes of yuzu, of which 52% comes from Kôchi.
The mountains of Kitagawamura, in May, during the flowering of the yuzu trees, release a fragrance that perfumes the surrounding air for dozens of kilometres around. A yuzu tree produces only 15 to 20 kg of fruit (only 2 to 3 litres of juice per tree).
Wild yuzu or Mishoyuzu
My quest for exceptional products led me, 5 years ago, to the island of Kôchi. There, I was told, were the only wild yuzu trees remaining in Japan. They produce their first fruits after 20 years. Able to reach 5 to 8 metres in height, harvesting their fruit is quite a challenge. The fruits have a very rustic appearance, an uneven colouring, marked with woody spots.
I was also told that almost nobody picks the fruit any more, as the trees are located on public land (mountain slopes…). How surprised I was to discover these wild trees, sometimes covered in lichen, whose fruits already release a fresh fragrance typical of citrus. I pick my first fruits. The emotion is overwhelming. The fragrance is incredibly powerful, the skin full of essential oils, the nose green mandarin, green grapefruit, the juice powerful, robust, and far more developed than cultivated yuzu — richer in sugar, more complex.
I was discovering what I have to this day called the King of yuzu.
Since then, I have introduced its juice to numerous French and European tables, chocolatiers, pastry chefs and other artisans in search of authentic flavours. All have unanimously embraced it. And I am pleased to note that, since then, many Japanese artisans have restored its legitimacy. It is more costly than cultivated yuzu juice but far rarer.
To discover our yuzu juices, visit the Nishikidôri shop
