When did ‘Yuzu’ became a household name? Maybe it is not that well known yet but if you are an official foodie, you must have heard the name at least once. For me the first time I heard the name Yuzu coming out from an English person’s mouth was on TV programme ‘the Great British Bake Off’ a few years ago. One of the contestants was using its juice as the key ingredinent for his special cake. So what is Yuzu?

Yuzu is a small citrus fruit we cultivate in Japan. It has a quite tough skin and a sharp taste so it is not for eating fresh as a dessert fruit, but it has a marvellous aroma so we add the juice or skin into some dishes and a dipping sauce for enhance the flavour.

When I saw the baking programme I thought ‘where did he get that Yuzu from?’ I believe almost nobody knew about the fruit in England at that time and it was impossible to find Yuzu anywhere in London. How funny the time passes and the situation changes. Now, just a few years later, the bottled juice is available in major supermarkets and if you are lucky, even fresh ones can be found in some Japanese Food shops.

Yuzu Mochi

In a cold evening it is wonderful to have a Hot Pot with a hint of Yuzu flavour. So Yuzu is a flavour of Winter.

I made a Mochi sweet that has a scent and flavour of Yuzu.

In order to maximise the taste and flavour of Yuzu I wanted the sweet as simple as possible. I thought the texture of ‘Mochi’ would suit this task very well.

I flavoured the Mochi outer layer with Yuzu but the main taste and flavour comes from the Yuzu jam I placed as the centre of this sweet.

It is Free from Gluten, Dairy and Egg.

This Yuzu mochi is served at Wasoukan Café (Notting Hill, London) until the end of January.