On a recent trip to visit friends in Tochigi Prefecture, I saw a bottle of “Yuzu Jure” in the saké section of a farmer’s market. I like saké, and I love yuzu, so although I had no idea what it was, I bought the bottle and brought it home.
Before opening it, I consulted the Internet, and although a search for “yuzu jure” didn’t bring up anything in English, I was able to find the website of a saké merchant that sells alcoholic beverages produced in Tochigi prefecture–and, lo and behold, the exact Yuzu Jure I bought was also on sale there.
I also learned that “yuzu jure” is jellied yuzu saké, made using a konjac thickener and agar. As the bottle indicated, it’s 5% alcohol–so not very strong–and sweet.
The texture is similar to other Japanese ぜり: a little looser than Jello or other gelatin-based products, but more firm than what we’d call “jelly” in the U.S. It tastes, unsurprisingly, like sweet, alcoholic yuzu juice–by which I mean that the yuzu flavor is prominent, and the alcohol only noticeable on the back end.
In case you’re not familiar with yuzu, it’s a small Japanese citrus, shaped like a tangerine with a thicker, rougher skin, but yellow; it tastes a lot like a bitter lemon. It’s often translated “citron” although the yuzu is a fruit unto itself.
It has a nice mouth feel. You sort of half-eat, half-drink it. And while it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea–er, saké–I’ll definitely be picking up more when the opportunity presents itself.
Yuzu jure: yes or no? Would you try it if you had the chance?