Attempt my straightforward selfmade recipe for Yuzu Cha (Citron Tea) with recent yuzu fruit and rock sugar. Stir a spoonful of this candy, tart, and aromatic preserved citrus syrup into sizzling water for an invigorating and immune-boosting beverage on chilly days.
I’m utterly obsessive about yuzu, a small Japanese citrus fruit with a definite floral perfume and a brilliant, fruity, and citrusy taste. It’s onerous to search out within the US, so I planted my very own small tree in my yard! I really like to make use of this recent yellow fruit to make selfmade Yuzu Cha (Citron Tea), the recipe that I’m sharing at the moment. This preserved yuzu syrup is very easy to make! I can’t wait so that you can attempt it in a scrumptious restorative sizzling drink on chilly winter days.
When you love the style of yuzu fruit, attempt my Yuzu Ponzu, Yuzu Sorbet, and Yuzu Marmalade subsequent!
What’s Yuzu Cha?
Yuzu cha (ゆず茶, yuzu “tea,” citron tea) originated in Korea, the place it’s known as yuja-cheong and yuja cha referring to yuja fruit, the Korean title for yuzu. It’s a preserved yuzu syrup constituted of sugar and uncooked yuzu rind, flesh, pulp, and juice. It’s additionally what we name the fruit tea made with a spoonful of yuzu syrup stirred into sizzling water. This “tea” accommodates neither tea leaves nor caffeine, so folks of any age can get pleasure from it any time of day.
Why I Love This Recipe
- No cooking vital! – Merely clear and put together the yuzu, then layer it in jars with rock sugar, and relaxation it for 7 days. That’s it! I really like how straightforward it’s to make this syrup in comparison with different preservation strategies that decision for boiling the fruit and sugar.
- A easy methodology to protect recent yuzu – My recipe is a good way to make use of this uncommon and valuable fruit when it’s in season and luxuriate in it for a very long time! It retains for 1–2 months within the fridge.
- No components – Many yuzu cha merchandise like jam, powder, and tea baggage bought in shops include components. I actually like that this recipe makes use of solely two components—recent yuzu and rock sugar—so I do know precisely what I’m feeding to my household.
- Yuzu restores vitality and fights colds – I really feel refreshed and invigorated after consuming a sizzling cup of yuzu tea. The tart and bitter citrus fruit has citric acid and malic acid that assist your physique recuperate from fatigue. It’s additionally wealthy in Vitamin C to assist your physique struggle colds and increase its immune system.
- A scrumptious approach to get pleasure from yuzu’s well being advantages – Yuzu is wealthy in flavonoids, a polyphenol with excessive antioxidant properties that may assist stop sure ailments. It’s additionally ample in pectin, a kind of dietary fiber that helps good micro organism for improved intestine well being. I stir a spoonful into sizzling water and luxuriate in it as a wholesome tonic.
Components for Yuzu Cha
- Recent yuzu fruit
- White rock sugar
Discover the printable recipe with measurements under.
Substitutions
- Rock sugar: Most Korean yuja tea recipes use granulated sugar. When you substitute white sugar, you’ll want to refrigerate the yuzu cha as quickly because the sugar dissolves. Some Japanese recipes additionally use honey as an alternative of rock sugar; should you substitute it, bear in mind that the yuzu cha won’t maintain as lengthy should you use honey as an alternative of sugar.
Key Kitchen Tools
How you can Make Yuzu Cha
Preparation
Step 1 – Peel and clear the yuzu. Rinse and dry the yuzu, then rating the rind on the underside with an X. Peel off the rinds and set them apart. Separate the fruit segments and take away any stringy white membrane. Place the fruit in a big tray or bowl.
Step 2 – Take away the seeds and slice the rinds. Minimize every section in half crosswise and take away the seeds. Take away the stem or “button” from the rinds and thinly julienne them lengthwise.
Assemble
Step 3 – Rub the rinds and fruit collectively, then layer with rock sugar into jars. Therapeutic massage the rinds with the fruit to melt. Layer the yuzu combination with rock sugar into sterilized glass jars, urgent the layers as you go to take away any air gaps.
Step 4 – Relaxation and protect the yuzu cha for one week. Shut the lids and maintain the jars in a cool place for 7 days. Gently shake and tilt the jars no less than as soon as a day to verify the yuzu is coated with syrup. When it’s finished, transfer the jars to the fridge to retailer.
Nami’s Recipe Suggestions
- Utterly dry your yuzu fruit after rinsing them. Any extra water can encourage mildew development.
- Use the identical quantity of yuzu and sugar by weight – Please use a 1-to-1 ratio of yuzu to rock sugar to correctly protect the fruit. You possibly can at all times add extra sugar should you want it sweeter, however please don’t scale back the quantity. I like to recommend weighing all of your components with a digital kitchen scale.
- Be sure that your mason jars and lids are utterly dry. Any drops of water in your mason jar could cause mildew to kind.
- Sterilize your jars with shochu – It’s vital to sterilize your clear mason jars with shochu, vodka, or any alcohol greater than 35% ABV.
- Utterly cowl the highest layer of yuzu with rock sugar – This helps stop mildew from forming.
- Tilt the jar day by day to coat the yuzu with syrup – Whereas the yuzu is resting within the jars, you’ll want to gently shake the jar to maintain the yuzu lined with syrup. This helps inhibit mildew development.
- Refrigerate as soon as the sugar dissolves – The rock sugar takes about 7 days to dissolve, at which level you may transfer it to the fridge the place it would maintain for 1–2 months.
Variations and Customizations
Whereas this recipe calls for less than two components, there are a number of methods to customise your yuzu cha to alter up the flavors. Listed below are a few of my ideas.
- Add honey. For a singular depth of taste, add some honey to the rock sugar. Simply ensure that to maintain the overall weight of the sugars (rock sugar + honey) and the yuzu on the similar 1-to-1 ratio known as for in my recipe.
- Combine in ginger slices. Recent ginger provides a heat, spicy style to this syrup and boosts the well being advantages of your yuzu cha. In Japan, we even make the same sizzling tea with ginger and honey as a potent chilly and flu treatment. Peel and reduce recent ginger into skinny slices or sticks and blend into the yuzu fruit and rinds earlier than layering with the rock sugar.
- Use Meyer lemons. You can also make the same preserved citrus syrup utilizing Meyer lemons as an alternative of yuzu!
- Add your favourite spices. Experiment along with your favourite flavors so as to add a singular twist to your yuzu cha. Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise, and vanilla pods are standard spices in Western delicacies that pair effectively with citrus.
How you can Serve Yuzu Cha
Right here, I like to recommend another scrumptious methods to get pleasure from this yuzu syrup and preserved peel.
- In sizzling citron tea – The commonest approach to get pleasure from yuzu cha is combined right into a cup of sizzling water for a restorative beverage that’s much like lemon tea. That is similar to Korean citron tea or Korean honey citron tea.
- In an iced drink – You possibly can add yuzu cha to plain water over ice cubes for a refreshing summertime drink. You may as well combine it right into a Japanese Yuzu Cocktail (Chuhai) or non-alcohol yuzu spritz.
- In sizzling black tea – Combine a heaping spoonful into freshly brewed black tea.
- On toast – Use it identical to jam on toasted Japanese Milk Bread (Shokupan)
- In ice cream – Use a number of tablespoons in a refreshing Yuzu Ice Cream or add a dollop on high of a vanilla ice cream scoop.
- In agar jelly – Stir yuzu cha into Kanten Jelly for a refreshing summertime dessert!
- In yogurt or chopped fruit – Yuzu cha is scrumptious when combined into plain or vanilla yogurt, or when added to chopped apples.
Storage Suggestions
To retailer: As soon as your yuzu cha is completed resting for 7 days, you may retailer it within the fridge for as much as 1–2 months.
Ceaselessly Requested Questions
About Yuzu Cha
I don’t suggest it. Sugar helps to protect the yuzu and lengthen the shelf lifetime of the yuzu cha. Please use an equal quantity (by weight) of sugar to yuzu fruit.
You possibly can substitute an equal quantity of granulated sugar or honey.
When you see a little bit of mildew on high of your yuzu cha, you have to assume that there are mildew spores contained in the syrup. Subsequently, please throw away all the jar of yuzu cha if it begins rising mildew.
About Yuzu Fruit
Yuzu is a small yellow or inexperienced citrus fruit that’s been used for hundreds of years in Japanese and Korean cooking. In Korea, it’s known as yuja. It’s extremely prized in Japanese delicacies for its intense perfume and taste. It has an fragrant zest and a floral, tart-sweet juice. Japanese delicacies locations nice emphasis on colour and aroma, and yuzu is usually the magical ingredient that elevates many dishes.
Yuzu has a thick pith and thick pores and skin that’s bumpy and infrequently scarred from the sharp thorns of the yuzu tree. What’s extra, yuzu has a lot of seeds—much more than the standard citrus fruit. It feels squishy and ethereal from the skin; it’s not onerous and plump like a lime or lemon.
Yuzu is a really valuable and costly fruit outdoors of Japan, and it’s not straightforward to search out it recent within the US. You would possibly discover it within the wintertime at Japanese grocery shops and native farmer’s markets.
Recent yuzu juice tastes like a posh mix of bitter, candy, and floral flavors. I’d describe it as an excellent mixture of tart lemon, bitter grapefruit, candy orange, and aromatic pomelo. It has a extremely aromatic and fragrant zest and a bitter and spongy pith.
In Japan, we use yuzu in each candy and savory Japanese dishes, simply as you’d use lemon in cooking and baking. Yuzu zest is a stunning garnish for soups, chawanmushi (steamed savory custard), and Japanese pickles (tsukemono). We add the juice to sizzling pots, dipping sauce, and grilled fish and meat. We use the zest and juice to taste baked items like pound muffins and chiffon muffins. Lastly, you may make yuzu marmalade, yuzu ice cream, yuzu sorbet, and the favored fermented citrus chili paste known as yuzu kosho.
Extra Wholesome Beverage Recipes
When you love this Yuzu Cha, you’re in for a deal with with these different irresistible recipes for wholesome drinks.
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To Peel and Clear the Yuzu
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Rinse 2.2 lbs yuzu and dry effectively with a kitchen towel. Rating the rind on the underside with an X utilizing a pointy knife. This makes peeling simpler.
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Peel off the rinds along with your fingers. The bumpy and free pores and skin ought to come off in a single piece. Set the rinds apart for now. Then, separate every fruit section and place them in a big tray. Tip: Work over the tray whilst you deal with the fruit to gather any juice, which you’ll use later.
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Take away any stringy white membrane from the fruit (however depart the membrane wall intact). I gather the stringy membrane and any seeds that fall out in a separate small tray to discard after the subsequent step.
To Take away the Seeds
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Minimize every section in half crosswise with kitchen scissors, working over the tray to any gather the juice. Take away the seeds. Place the seeded halves in one other massive tray.
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If you find yourself finished, discard the seeds and stringy membrane.
To Slice the Rinds
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Take away the stem or “button” hooked up to the rinds. Then, thinly julienne the rinds lengthwise.
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When you end slicing, add the rinds to the big tray with the seeded fruit. Add any of the collected juice from the opposite trays.
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Then, squeeze and rub every part collectively till the rinds begin to soften.
To Put together the Yuzu Cha
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First, fill the underside of the sterilized jars with a layer of a few of the 2.2 lbs white rock sugar. Then, cowl the rock sugar with a layer of the yuzu combination utilizing tongs. Proceed alternating the layers till you employ all of the yuzu.
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Alongside the way in which, press down on the layers with a spoon to take away any air gaps. Finish with a layer of rock sugar that utterly covers the yuzu.
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Wipe the jar rims with a clear kitchen towel dampened with shochu.
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Shut the lids.
To Make the Yuzu Cha
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Hold the jars in a cool place for about 7 days. When you reside in a heat local weather, retailer them in a fridge. Gently shake and tilt the jars no less than as soon as a day to verify the yuzu is coated with syrup. The objective is to extract the yuzu taste rapidly. If left uncovered and uncoated by rock sugar or syrup, the fruit might develop mildew and smash the syrup.When you use granulated sugar as an alternative of white rock sugar, retailer it within the fridge instantly after the sugar has utterly dissolved.
