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Fermentation Atlas

Sauces and condiments from Kyushu, Japan

Yuzukoshō (柚子胡椒, salted yuzu peel and chilli paste)柚子胡椒

Yuzukoshō is a Kyushu paste of yuzu peel, chilli and salt only; koshō means chilli in northern Kyushu dialect. Green yuzu peel and green chillies are each ground with 16–20 % of their weight in salt, then pounded together in a mortar. It is kept cold or frozen for three to six months and is brightest just after it is made. Made in 4 steps over 3 months – 6 months. The longest step, keep cold or frozen, takes 3–6 months (Kamiya Y. 2021). Salt is 16–20 % (Kamiya Y. 2021). Not studied; no source read describes a microbial fermentation does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3–6 monthsReported[kamiya2021]Keep cold or frozen
Salt16–20 %Reported[kamiya2021]Chop each with salt
DocumentedSauces and condiments3 months – 6 monthsMore sauces and condimentsMore from Japan

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceA home recipe from Kamiya (2021) for the peel of 5 yuzu; salt is measured as 16–20 % of the weighed peel and of the weighed chilli.
Peel of 5 yuzu, about 200 gYuzu peel · Peeled thick, down to the flesh, and weighed[kamiya2021]
60–80 gChilli · Seeds removed, white pith kept; adjust for heat[kamiya2021]
About 40 gSalt · 16–20 % of the peel weight and of the chilli weight[kamiya2021]
Starternone (a salted paste; no starter)

Total time across the recorded steps: 3 months – 6 months

Start
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What changes: Yuzu peel is cut away thick and the chillies are split and seeded

Step 1 of 4
Peel the yuzu and seed the chillies
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: weighed yuzu peel and seeded chillies.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Yuzukoshō is a salted raw paste of only yuzu peel, chilli and salt, eaten fresh or kept cold. Kanzuri, its Niigata relative, adds rice koji and is aged for years.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Aka (red) yuzukoshōRed chilli with green or yellow yuzu.
  • Yellow yuzukoshōRipe yellow yuzu from November with red or yellow chilli.
  • Kanzuri (Niigata)Snow-bleached chilli fermented with rice koji, yuzu and salt for years (see kanzuri).

Safety

Kamiya notes the paste spoils more easily below 15 % salt and suggests 16–20 % for a stable result; sea salt with less sodium chloride needs a higher amount.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Made at home first and passed on by word of mouth; the usual origin is the approach to the Takatsuka Jizō temple at Amagase in Hita, from about the start of the Shōwa era. Green yuzu came from fruit thinned in July and August. It became widely known in the 2010s.

  1. [kamiya2021] Kamiya Y. 2021, Yuzugosho, yuzu peel and chili pepper paste (ゆずごしょう), Journal of Cookery Science of Japan 54(4):201–205, doi:10.11402/cookeryscience.54.201paper
  2. [s2] Discover Japan 2020, 柚子胡椒 (origin at Amagase, Hita; yuzu peel, green chilli and salt), 16 April 2020web