This is the time of year the citrus starts ripening in earnest and each year the quality seems to improve, especially the Yuzu which is ripe now. It's juicier and the peel is intensely aromatic with complex notes. If that sounds pretentious it probably is. With only 4 years of production I know I'm in the initial stages of developing a discerning palate.
To help though, a friend of ours recently returned from Japan with fresh Yuzu and Sudachi fruit. My daughter Julia and I are so curious as to how our fruit stands up against citrus grown in its own terroir. And we videoed our effort here:
It was interesting to note the differences not only in flavour but in ripeness and firmness.
The Yuzu and Sudachi fruit seen here in the tub was harvested a couple of weeks ago for Joël Watanabe, chef of the award winning Kissa Tanto restaurant in Vancouver. Joël has a deep appreciation for local organic produce, especially the hard-to-find sour Japanese mandarin called Yuzu.
Yuzu and Sudachi are some of the hardiest citrus trees and can endure low temperatures outside. For reliable production though, they do much better with a protected environment, even here on the coast.
To get a feeling for the current international craze over these sour Japanese mandarins check out this article from the UK: