# Yuzu (柚子)

**Yuzu** (柚子; *Citrus × junos* Siebold ex Tanaka) is an aromatic acid citrus fruit of [East Asia](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-asia), used almost entirely for its fragrant peel and sour juice rather than eaten fresh. Kew's Plants of the World Online treats it as an artificial hybrid with the formula *C. cavaleriei* × *C. maxima* × *C. reticulata*, first published in 1924<sup>[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A771942-1/general-information)</sup>, while the University of California, Riverside Citrus Variety Collection describes it as a hybrid between the Ichang papeda (*Citrus ichangensis*) and a mandarin<sup>[2](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)</sup>. It originated in China, spread to [Japan](https://www.edgepedia.org/japan-epzdpsev89) and Korea around the eighth century, and is now central to Japanese cooking<sup>[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030881460801474X)</sup>.

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | *Citrus × junos* Siebold ex Tanaka; an artificial hybrid, formula *C. cavaleriei* × *C. maxima* × *C. reticulata*<sup>[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A771942-1/general-information)</sup> |
| Origin | Upper reaches of the Yangtze River, China; reached Japan and Korea around the 8th century<sup>[2](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030881460801474X)</sup> |
| Fruit | Palm-sized, about 120–130 g, with thick, bumpy rind; too sour for fresh eating like a mandarin<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup> |
| Acidity | About 4.5% citric acid on average; used much the way lemon is used in the United States<sup>[2](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)</sup> |
| Main producers | Japan and Korea are the largest producers; cultivation also in China, Australia, Spain, Italy, and France<sup>[2](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup> |
| Japanese output | About 27,000 tonnes; Kochi Prefecture holds roughly 52% of domestic share, followed by Tokushima (13%) and Ehime (11%)<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup> |
| Vitamin C | Per 100 g edible part, peel contains 150 mg versus 40 mg in the juice<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup> |

## Botany and taxonomy

The plant is a medium-sized, very spiny tree. The 1967 volume of *The Citrus Industry* describes leaves 5–7 cm long with winged petioles, depressed-globose fruits 5–7 cm in diameter with a rough, bumpy peel, very acid and somewhat bitter pulp, and plump seeds about 12–14 mm long<sup>[2](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)</sup>. Trees measured at [Riverside, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/riverside-california), on Carrizo and C-35 citrange rootstock reached about 14 feet at 26 years of age, with thorns up to 5 mm in each leaf axil<sup>[2](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)</sup>. The EPPO Global Database records the hybrid as obtained in cultivation in Japan, with common names including Japanese citron, ユズ, 香橙, and 유자나무<sup>[5](https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/CIDJU)</sup>.

The hybrid's parentage has been described in two ways. The UCR collection states that yuzu is thought to be a hybrid between Ichang papeda and Satsuma mandarin, an accidental cross-pollination probably accomplished by an insect<sup>[2](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)</sup>. Kew's current treatment gives the three-parent formula *C. cavaleriei* × *C. maxima* × *C. reticulata*<sup>[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A771942-1/general-information)</sup>.

## Origin and spread

The center of origin is placed in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China<sup>[2](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)</sup>. The fruit spread to Japan and Korea around the eighth century<sup>[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030881460801474X)</sup>; the JETRO profile says it reached Japan by way of the Korean Peninsula by the [Nara period](https://www.edgepedia.org/nara-period), about 1,300 years ago, and was grown in western Japan for medicinal use<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>. Surveys of past literature indicate that yuzu was already cultivated in Japan by the Nara era (AD 710–794)<sup>[6](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jsbbs/advpub/0/advpub_24047/_pdf)</sup>.

The plant explorer Frank N. Meyer found yuzu growing wild in southern Gansu Province in 1914, at temperatures that dipped to 10 °F, with no other cultivated citrus nearby, and sent seed to the United States; the UCR collection received seed of this accession in 1918, collected in Hubei Province along the Yangtze at an elevation of about 4,000 feet<sup>[2](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)</sup>.

## Cultivation

Yuzu grows slowly. Trees raised from seed take 15 to 20 years to bear fruit, so most growers graft yuzu onto trifoliate orange (*Poncirus*, karatachi) rootstock, which fruits within a few years; seed-grown fruit, produced only in a few long-established districts, is said to be more aromatic and full-flavored<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>. The branches carry very sharp thorns that wound the fruit in wind, making orchard management difficult<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>.

Japanese production is concentrated in inland mountain areas with large day-night temperature differences, which is credited for the fruit's stronger aroma compared with fruit grown overseas<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>. In Kochi Prefecture, the leading producing villages and towns such as Umaji, Kitagawa, and Aki sit in forested eastern Kochi, and much of the crop is grown without pesticides<sup>[7](https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/market/dento_syoku/menu/yuzu_ponzu.html)</sup>. Shipment is concentrated from November through January; green-skinned summer fruit is called *ao-yuzu* and yellow autumn fruit *ki-yuzu*, the latter juicier<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>.

## Culinary use

Yuzu is a seasoning citrus rather than a table fruit. Both juice and peel are aromatic, but the aroma compounds sit mainly in the peel, which is grated over sashimi and grilled fish, cut into fine shreds as a garnish, or used in marmalade; the juice seasons ponzu, vinegared dishes, hot-pot dishes, yuzu miso, and cocktails<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>. A distinctively Japanese tradition is floating raw rind shavings in soup as a fragrant garnish, with named cuts such as *kizami-yuzu* (shredded) and *furi-yuzu* (sprinkled grated rind) applied across simmered, steamed, and grilled dishes, noodles, soups, dressings, and pickles<sup>[8](https://tsc.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/3885/files/%E7%B4%80%E8%A6%81_%E7%AC%AC12%E5%8F%B7_WEB%E7%94%A8PDF_Part3-19.pdf)</sup>. The hollowed fruit also serves as an edible container, and halved fruit garnishes ozoni soup<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>.

Ponzu and processed products anchor the commercial market. Yuzu ponzu, a soy-citrus sauce, began selling widely as a household product around 1986 and became known throughout Japan<sup>[7](https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/market/dento_syoku/menu/yuzu_ponzu.html)</sup>. The juice also goes into jams, jellies, marmalades, beverages, and liqueurs<sup>[2](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)</sup>.

## Aroma and composition

The peel oil is the source of yuzu's reputation. GC-olfactometry of peel oils from different cultivars identified eight odorants with the highest flavor dilution values<sup>[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030881460801474X)</sup>, and presentations on the characteristics of yuzu essential oil by Sawamura and colleagues at academic conferences in Japan and abroad made yuzu known as the scent of Japan<sup>[9](https://www.tsc-05.ac.jp/pdf_library/2020.pdf)</sup>.

Analysis of Swiss-grown fruit found citric acid at 44.7 g/L and malic acid at 6.18 g/L in the juice, with hesperidin the most abundant flavanone (47 μg/mL in juice, 640 μg/g dry matter in peel); the Swiss juice contained nearly twice as much vitamin C as yuzu juices from different regions of Japan, and a vitamin C content as high as or higher than most other citrus fruits<sup>[10](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30376926/)</sup>. The JETRO profile gives vitamin C as 150 mg per 100 g of peel against 40 mg per 100 g of juice, and notes pectin-rich dietary fiber of 6,900 mg per 100 g in peel versus 400 mg in juice<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>.

## Cultural uses and export

The winter-solstice bath, *yuzu-yu*, is said to have begun in the [Edo period](https://www.edgepedia.org/edo-period) with the rise of public bathhouses; whole fruit floated in the bath is believed to promote circulation, and the practice is also valued for skin moisturizing and relaxation<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>.

Exports have grown from a small base. After a 2011 tasting event in France, 3 tonnes of Kochi yuzu drew inquiries from about 20 countries, and within a few years the prefecture's export markets exceeded 25 countries including the United States and Singapore; Tokushima's Kito yuzu is registered under Japan's geographical indication system<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>. In February 2025, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture agreed quarantine conditions with Thailand, lifting that country's ban on Japanese fresh yuzu and kumquat, subject to fruit-fly survey, orchard and packinghouse registration, surface disinfection, and Thai inspection<sup>[11](https://www.maff.go.jp/j/press/syouan/syokubo/250207.html)</sup>. Chefs in Paris and New York have adopted the fruit for pasta, sautés, and pastry<sup>[4](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)</sup>.

## References

1. [Citrus × junos Siebold ex Tanaka, Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A771942-1/general-information)
2. [Yuzu ichandrin (papeda hybrid), Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection at UCR](https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc1216)
3. [Chemical and aroma profiles of yuzu (Citrus junos) peel oils of different cultivars, Food Chemistry](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030881460801474X)
4. [ゆず (Yuzu), 日本産食材ピックアップ, JETRO](https://www.jetro.go.jp/industry/foods/item/pickup/yuzu.html)
5. [Citrus x junos (CIDJU), EPPO Global Database](https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/CIDJU)
6. [Breeding Science preview on citrus cultivar history in Japan, J-Stage](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jsbbs/advpub/0/advpub_24047/_pdf)
7. [Yuzu Ponzu, Traditional Foods in Japan, MAFF](https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/market/dento_syoku/menu/yuzu_ponzu.html)
8. [Yuzu Usage in Japan by Fruit Part, Tokyo Seiei University Kiyo No. 12](https://tsc.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/3885/files/%E7%B4%80%E8%A6%81_%E7%AC%AC12%E5%8F%B7_WEB%E7%94%A8PDF_Part3-19.pdf)
9. [東京聖栄大学紀要第12号 (2020)](https://www.tsc-05.ac.jp/pdf_library/2020.pdf)
10. [Bioactive Compounds of Juice and Peels of Yuzu Fruits Cultivated in Switzerland, PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30376926/)
11. [タイ向け日本産ゆず、きんかんの輸出が解禁！, MAFF press release (7 February 2025)](https://www.maff.go.jp/j/press/syouan/syokubo/250207.html)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Seed plants › Other flowering plants › Rosids › Malvales and Sapindales*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license