Friday, September 17, 2010

Exotic fruits

For awhile now, I've been interested in trying to cook with yuzu*, a tiny Japanese citrus fruit with a unique sort of aroma to it. I've eaten it as a component of sauces, mostly in its vinegar condiment form, but I thought making a meringue pie with it and some of the matcha powder left from this summer would be a different slant to take. I schlepped down to Soho to this Japanese market I'd read about to pick up the fruit. They indeed had fresh yuzu, but they were a. very expensive and b. not ripe, so I got a bottle of yuzu juice for $6.50 (still not cheap, but less expensive than buying five or six yuzu at $3.50 each!). Unfortunately, I did not realize that it was salted yuzu juice because, well, I do not speak Japanese or read Japanese. The dessert consequently has more of that salty/sweet juxtaposition that I associate with Asian desserts, rather than the straightforward tangy sweetness I was initially going for.

Is it tasty? Well, it all depends. If you like the sweet-and-salty taste associated with many Asian desserts, then yes, you'll love this. If not, I'm sorry I inflicted it on you.

*Skimming that article led me to an oddly detailed article on yuja hwachae, which sounds delicious but probably doesn't merit that much space on Wiki.

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