Citrus

Japan has a wide variety of citrus fruits, which play an important role in local cuisine. Use them, for example, as an interesting substitute for lemon in dressings, marinades, sauces, and desserts, or as a flavoring in a refreshing ponzu. At Dutch Wasabi, we grow various Japanese and Asian citrus varieties ourselves in our greenhouse in the Westland region (the Netherlands), including yuzu, sudachi, and Buddha’s Hand (finger lime).

Our fresh yuzu is intensely aromatic and combines notes of mandarin, grapefruit, and lemon with a distinctive floral freshness and slight bitterness. The fragrant peel, in particular, plays a major role in Japanese cuisine, for example in yuzu kosho. The juice, too, has a deliciously layered sweet-and-sour flavor with floral and bitter notes. Sudachi is smaller and contains a lot of juice. The fruit is harvested while still green and has a distinctively fresh, tart aroma, with spicy undertones reminiscent of dill, cumin, and white pepper. Buddha’s Hand contains hardly any juice but has an exceptionally fragrant peel. It is used not only in cooking for zest, jams, desserts, savory dishes, and beverages, but sometimes also simply as a fragrant ornament. In addition, the fruit holds special cultural and ritual significance in countries such as Japan and China.

Each of our citrus varieties has its own harvest season, and we offer them as fresh as possible. For example, since yuzu is only available from our own greenhouse for a relatively short period, we sometimes also offer carefully selected fresh yuzu from Japan or Spain. For professional kitchens, we also grow finger lime, among other varieties. We continue to experiment with new varieties that align with our curiosity about unique flavors and crops.