This citrus fruit harvested in Kochi prefecture is turned into the greatest
condiment you'll ever eat.
Inside this little bottle is a world of flavors.
This is the story of yuzukosho.
We'll follow it from the farm
to factory, to table
Move over ketchup! It's time for yuzukosho.
[voiceover in Japanese] Welcome
[Intro music]
[Peter von Gomm] Only in Japan
So here we are in Kochi.
This factory makes one of my favorite Japanese condiments.
In Japan, there are so many of them.
Japanese cuisine is very unique and it requires condiments that compliment its flavors.
Supermarkets are stacked with them.
Here are some of the favorites: from tonkatsu sauce that tops breaded pork cutlets
to wasabi and gyoza dumpling dipping sauce, tare.
They add the salty, spicy, sour, and tangy that make many dishes come alive.
For some fire: wasabi powder might do the trick.
Sansho pepper has a mouth numbing bite enjoyed on unagi.
Japanese mayonnaise might be the king of the condiment world
and it goes great with a mixture of takoyaki sauce, aonori seaweed flakes,
and katsuobushi.
In tubes, forget about ketchup and mustard.
We've got hon-wasabi, karashi spicy mustard, aojiso, and umeboshi paste.
Sweet, sour, salty, fiery goodness that burns on a cracker.
But there's something to compete against that creamy Japanese mayonnaise.
It's citrus, salty, spicy: yuzukosho.
And this one here is my favorite.
They pack in so much flavor in this little jar.
To see how it's made, I had to travel to where they grow the most
yuzu citrus in Japan.
On Shikoku Island...
is Kochi prefecture.
Inland, about an hour from the city, is Yoshino River and its valleys.
You'll find terraces lined with yuzu trees
where they can soak up that sun.
This is a very special Japanese citrus fruit called yuzu.
It is mostly grown here in Kochi. It's a very unique climate and environment for them.
They thrive here. We've come at the time that they are harvesting it.
On the tree they look very much like lemons.
I met a local farmer who's been harvesting yuzu for decades.
If it gets more ripe than this
it'll fall to the ground.
Is this one too ripe?
Yes, it's too late.
Yuzu like this one
(John) This color is good?
Well there's a little bit of the node from the branch.
This one has none.
He cut open one for me to try.
Right away I could smell that relaxing citrus in the air.
There's actually not a lot of meat in here.
There's not a lot of fruit inside.
It's just moist.
Go ahead and eat it.
I knew what I was getting into.
It hits you hard after a second.
Ooooh hoooo hooo!
SOUR!
It's sort of good ...
Oh I went back for more.
That is sour!
There are a lot of seeds, right?
Each tree yields quite a lot of yuzu.
Harvesting them requires a special tool to get to the top parts.
It cuts and grabs the branch, so it can be lowered into the collection area.
Beware of the thorns. Yuzu farmers wear steel bottomed boots and gloves for protection.
When a truck is full from the picked yuzu, they are transported to the factory nearby.
The truck is weighed before the yuzu is unloaded.
This is where it starts, it's first step in the production process.
I spoke with Morishita-san who manages the JA Kochi Reihoku yuzu processing plant.
Kochi produces half of Japan's yuzu.
Squeezing the yuzu starts around
October 20th to the end of November.
But we make yuzukosho and juice all year around.
The factory produces a wide range of yuzu products all year round.
But it starts with the harvest. Let's have a look inside.
Forklifts bring in loads of yuzu for processing as soon as they arrive.
They are sorted to get rid of any damaged yuzu.
Then they head to the showers where they get sprayed and rolled.
Eventually they make their way to the slide...
where they are opened and the pips are removed.
And there are a lot of pips.
They are all collected; nothing is wasted.
The opened fruits get mashed up into pulp, which look like this.
The juice is also collected to make many yuzu products.
I came back in December because the yuzu needs to ferment for a while before it is used.
The ingredients are green chili peppers, salt, and yuzu peels.
The green chili peppers go into the mixer first.
The staff prepares the salt by smoothing it out.
The yuzu pulp is standing ready.
Here are the fermented yuzu peels.
The staff gradually adds salt to the mixture.
Here comes the yuzu pulp.
They really take their time with mixing it together.
When all the ingredients are added, you can see an ocean of yuzukosho.
The smell on the factory floor was incredible.
Citrus and fresh peppers.
While waiting for the mixture to finish, the bottles are prepared.
Each filled bottle holds approximately 50 grams, or 1.8 ounces.
The yuzukosho is judged ready for bottling.
It's dumped into a large pan to be added to the bottling machine.
This machine makes sure an average of 50 grams is added to every jar.
The weight is confirmed.
And the staff packs it by adding a cap inside to keep it fresh
and protect it when traveling.
The next step is sterilization.
It's treated in hot water to kill any bacteria.
This also extends the shelf life to about a year.
The caps are screwed on tight to make sure it's sealed before labelling.
The caps are sealed in plastic and moved down the line towards the labeler.
There's a lot of pride is every bottle of "Sato no Yuzu" branded yuzukosho
from JA Kochi Reihoku.
They're packaged in boxes to be shipped to distributors and stores around
Kochi, Japan, and the world.
(John) How is your yuzukosho different from others?
That kind of question makes me happy.
The salt content is lower.
The salt is reduced, and because
we use a lot of yuzu juice,
when you eat it, you will notice
that yuzu is quite dominating.
What's yuzu's purpose and what makes it special?
We don't eat it raw.
It's not really a fruit...
(John) It's not a fruit?
Well, we don't eat it as a fruit
like an orange or an apple.
The best thing about it is the scent.
It's quite unique.
It goes well with any dish.
It's been believed to have a relaxing effect.
It has the scent very characteristic of Japan.
(John) What are some of the foods yuzukosho goes well with?
Meat
especially chicken skewers,
and beef steak is also good.
The best way to eat it is with grilled meat.
In Tokyo, I stopped by the Marugoto Kochi store to buy some yuzukosho.
They have loads of yuzu products, and I found some of the yuzukosho from
the factory here.
Upstairs in the restaurant, I had some dishes with yuzukosho
like this: karaage, deep-fried Japanese chicken.
A delicious sauteed pork steak.
Skipjack tuna and yuzukosho.
Wow
Karaage is one of my favorite. This is deep-fried Japanese chicken.
You eat this a lot, especially at festivals,
izakayas, going to Japanese pubs.
It's great with beer.
But when you put a little bit of yuzukosho on there,
that saltiness, the citrus-ness of it
it brings out the flavor in a totally different way and that makes
something that I'm so used to eating a little bit more unique.
And that's why I love kinda just dipping into the yuzukosho like this.
Yuzukosho is a perfect compliment to nabemono.
I also love it with steak, especially wagyu.
Grill it up, and put a little on top.
It's great with yakitori, and salad dressings and in anything you can think of.
Oh, and you can find it mixed in Japanese mayonnaise.
The best of the best together in one.
Try yuzukosho and you'll thank me in the comments below.
And that's the story of yuzukosho, my favorite Japanese condiment.
I hope you liked this episode.
Definitely subscribe to the Only in Japan channel.
And if you'd like to try yuzukosho, you can pick it up in some international markets,
but if you're in Tokyo, the Marugoto Kochi store is the perfect place.
Mata ne.