Sour and tart, yuzu juice is a traditional ingredient in ponzu sauce.

FLAVOR PROFILE Yuzu fruits have bumpy, uneven skin and resem-ble lemons. Very sour and tart, they taste similar to grapefruit with a hint of mikan orange. Though they aren’t eaten by themselves, this fruit is a great addition to other dishes.

USES With its zest and juice, yuzu is an excellent choice for cooking Japanese cuisine. Yuzu juice is traditionally used to make ponzu, a citrus soy sauce that makes a delicious marinade for chicken or fish. Yuzu also flavors vinegar and tea and is found in yuzu hachimitsu, a syrup consumed as a hot sweet drink when mixed with water and yuzu liqueur. This versatile fruit can flavor all kinds of creams, dairy, pastries and other desserts, and is used to add its tart taste to a wide variety of beverages and cocktails. Yuzu kosho, typically made with green yuzu peel before the fruit ripens, is a spicy Japanese sauce of yuzu peel, red chili peppers and salt. This fruit is a common flavor of ice cream and sorbet in Japan, while yuzu chocolate flavors many Western desserts.

HISTORY Yuzu grows wild in China and Tibet, and has been cultivated in Japan since the Nara Period (710 to 794). Today, it is mostly grown on the island of Shikoku, with half of the domestic production coming from Kochi Prefecture.

With its spicy undertones, sudachi often flavors beverages and sauces.

FLAVOR PROFILE While similar to yuzu, sudachi are considerably smaller. They are green rather than yellow and are pulpier with a slightly spicy, sharp, and tangy taste accented by bergamot notes. Sudachi are very acidic and have excellent flavor and aroma reminis-cent of a lemon, but are considered to be zestier than either lemons or limes.

USES Sudachi are often squeezed over grilled fish. They can be eaten fresh but are also used in flavoring udon, soba, beverages and desserts. The juice can be distilled to make an alcoholic drink called shochu and provide flavor for other alcoholic beverages and vinegars. Sudachi fruits are also used in soft drinks, sauces, soups, prepared meats, marinades and salad dressings.

HISTORY Sudachi have been part of Japanese cuisine since the coun-try’s early history. Closely associated with the Tokushima Prefecture, where the majority of sudachi are produced, the fruit is in season during the winter.

This rare citrus has a ver y sour taste that complements fish dishes.

FLAVOR PROFILE Often incorrectly referred to as limes, this citrus fruit is related to yuzu and bitter orange, and has a sour taste similar to sudachi. Kabosu has a unique fragrance, and is often described as tasting somewhat like a cross between a lemon, lime and yuzu.

USES The juice of kabosu has a very sour taste, valued as a flavor in products including condiments, juices, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, frozen desserts, snack foods, wagashi and pastries. It is also used as vinegar.

HISTORY Kabosu are quite rare, even in Japan, and are grown almost exclusively in Oita Prefecture. Brought from China during the Edo period (1603 to 1868), the fruit of this evergreen tree holds a special place in the hearts of Japanese people. It is used to enhance the flavor of Japanese cuisine, especially cooked fish, sashimi and hot pot dishes as well as miso soup, noodles and desserts like sorbet or candied zest.

Easy-to-peel, sweet and seedless, mikan are very similar to tangerines.

FLAVOR PROFILE Mikan has four main flavor varieties – goku wase, wase, nakate and okute – all of which are very sweet.

USES Mikan is widely popular as a dessert or snack, often containing frozen mikan. It also works superbly in beverages like hard seltzers, alcoholic cocktails, mocktails and non-alcoholic beverages as well as confectionary, ice creams and snacks.

HISTORY Mikan are the most popular type of Japanese oranges, which are generally known as kan. The first Western contact with the mikan fruit occurred in the early Meiji period of the 1870s, right after Japan opened to world commerce. In many Western countries, these oranges are known as satsuma, so-called for the Japanese prefecture from which they were exported originally. In the U.S., mikan were planted in the 19th century, and subsequently several towns in the South were named Satsuma. One of Japan’s largest fruit crops, in season during the winter months of October-January, ripe mikan can be found in every Japanese supermarket. Wakayama and Ehime Prefectures are now Japan’s top mikan producers.

Refreshing as a juice, shikuwasa also have diverse uses in products.

FLAVOR PROFILE Shikuwasa is a lime with a rich citrus flavor and sour taste. Unripe, this fruit is dark green with a strong sour flavor. Ripe, it’s a golden yellow color with a mild blend of sweetness and sourness. Popular in Japan for its strong flavor and golden extract, its unsweetened and balanced taste is highly refreshing.

USES In Japan, shikuwasa is a flavoring for many local dishes. It is used like lemon to add zest to grilled fish and meat, salad and sashimi, and lends itself well to desserts, chips, sweets, juices, jams, dressings and garnishes. The green fruit is mainly used in alcohols and juices but is used in ponzu sauce as well. In alcohol, it’s also available mixed with beer, which results in a slightly sweet, very drinkable fusion. For food and beverage products in the U.S. and around the globe, the versatile juice can be used in salad dressings, vinaigrettes, pasta sauces, seafood, duck and chicken recipes, and is a superb flavoring for many other foods, including yogurt, margaritas, smoothies, citrus glazed ribs and citrus flavored cakes, cookies and syrups.

HISTORY Native to Taiwan and Okinawa, shikuwasa grows on the Ryukyu Islands in the Okinawa archipelago. The name comes from the Okinawan word for sour, “shii,” and food, “kwaasaa,” which refers to shikuwasa’s distinct tart taste.

Akin to the sweetness of a tangerine, the fragrant iyokan has many uses.

FLAVOR PROFILE Iyokan looks similar in appearance to a mandarin orange, but it tastes like a sweet, smooth tangerine to most who sample it. Those with a sophisticated palate will note that it tastes a bit more sour than a typical tangerine. Easily peeled, iyokan is a fragrant, medium-to-large fruit.

USES The pulp and juice of the iyokan are commonly used in pastries, chocolates and candies. In cooking, its juice is known for enhancing fish flavors.

HISTORY This fruit is grown primarily in Ehime Prefecture, with the busiest harvest season in early to late December. It is the second most widely produced citrus fruit in Japan.

This citrus fruit is brimming with antioxidants, believed to promote good health.

FLAVOR PROFILE Natsumikan, a yellow fruit, is oblate in shape and about the size of a grapefruit. It can taste very sour, but the acid can degrade over time.

USES Natsumikan are eaten directly or processed into a variety of products, including jam, juice, ice cream, cocktails, confections or wine. Regular consumption of this fruit is considered good for promoting or maintaining health, since it contains a large amount of anti-oxidative nutrients like vitamin C and flavonoids, which help ward off cell damage by removing free radicals. Natsumikan is also rich in many bioactive components, including hesperidin, neohesperidin, naringin, nobiletin, tangeretin and auraptene, which have been studied extensively for their anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and anti-oxidant properties.

HISTORY A summer fruit, natsumikan is grown commercially in Kumamoto, Kagoshima and Ehime Prefecture.

An orange-grapefruit hybrid, hassaku has a uniquely refreshing flavor.

FLAVOR PROFILE Hassaku has a distinctively sweet and refreshing taste. As the hybrid of an orange and a grapefruit, each bite of this fruit is layered with flavor. The slightly sour tang of the orange comes through first, followed by the taste of grapefruit. Resembling a large mandarin, hassaku’s pale yellow flesh is firm and juicy, divided into numerous segments.

USES This versatile fruit can be used in dressings, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, confections, jams and jellies.

HISTORY This fruit’s history dates back to 1860, when it was developed as a hybrid from grapefruit and mandarins. It is said to have originated as a seedling in Hiroshima Prefecture, but currently, the largest growing prefecture for hassaku is Wakayama.