Nihon Chomiryo Tabi
Ponzu and ajitsuke ponzu, side by side
- Ponzu in its original sense is citrus juice and nothing else, with no shoyu in it. It means the juice of sudachi, yuzu, kabosu, daidai and the like.
- The word comes from the Dutch pons, a drink made with citrus juice. The character for vinegar was attached to it later.
- Add shoyu and you get "ponzu shoyu" or "ajitsuke ponzu". Most of what you see on the shelf is this.
- To choose one, read the ingredient list. Is the citrus named by variety, are the dashi ingredients listed by name, and is there any acidulant or flavoring listed?
On the supermarket shelf you will see "ponzu" next to "ajitsuke ponzu" and "ponzu shoyu." They all look like the same orange bottle, and only the name changes. What is actually different?
The gap between those labels goes back to what the word ponzu originally meant.
Ponzu started out as citrus juice
The word ponzu comes from the Dutch "pons," a term for a drink made with citrus juice, and the character for vinegar was attached to it later.
So ponzu in its original sense was the juice of citrus fruit: sudachi, yuzu, kabosu, daidai. No shoyu in it. In a Japanese restaurant, "ponzu" can still mean that juice on its own.
Add shoyu and dashi to that juice so it can be poured straight from the bottle, and you have "ajitsuke ponzu," also sold as "ponzu shoyu." What we use at home on hot pots and yudofu is nearly always this. The longer name turns out to be the one closer to daily life.
Three things to read on the ingredient list
Ajitsuke ponzu is a category where what is inside varies widely from maker to maker. Turn the bottle over and read these three points.
1. Is the citrus named specifically? Some labels go down to the variety, "sudachi juice" or "yuzu juice"; others say only "citrus juice." The first kind can name what went in, which reads as confidence in how the aroma was built.
2. Are the dashi ingredients named? Do you see "katsuobushi" and "kombu" as ingredients, or is the savor carried by "seasoning (amino acids)"? A bottle where dashi was actually brewed leaves that trace in the list.
3. Where do the acidity and aroma come from? If "acidulant" or "flavoring" appears, part of the acidity and the scent is being supplied by additives. Where those lines are absent, the acidity is built from juice and brewed vinegar alone.
Ingredients have to be listed in order of quantity used. Read just the top 3 and the character of the bottle already comes into focus.
Ponzu from a vinegar maker: Uchibori Jozo in Yaotsu, Gifu
In the town of Yaotsu (八百津) in Gifu Prefecture, looking out over the Kiso River, stands Uchibori Jozo, founded in 1876 (Meiji 9). For 150 years it has made vinegar and nothing else.
Uchibori Jozo's Mino Tokusen Ajitsuke Ponzu is a long-seller that blends sudachi and yuzu juice into a first-run dashi drawn from Rishiri kombu and katsuobushi from Makurazaki. No chemical seasoning, acidulant, or flavoring.
How far to bring the acidity up, and where to stop it. This is a bottle that makes you notice how carefully that judgment gets made when a maker who has only ever handled vinegar is the one making it. There is nothing showy about it, but in hot pot season the bottle that does the most work in the middle of the table is usually one like this.
Using it, and choosing it
- Yudofu and yosenabe: start here. The quality of the dashi comes through as it is
- Grilled fish: citrus acidity cuts through an oily blue-backed fish
- Karaage and fried food: a pour of it takes the heaviness away
- Salads: add a little oil and it works as a dressing
- When choosing: a bottle where the juice dominates limits what you can do with it, so for your first one, a dashi-balanced type is easier to use
Read the back of your usual bottle all the way through, once. It will change how you pick the next one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ponzu and ajitsuke ponzu?
Ponzu properly means the juice pressed from citrus fruit. Once shoyu and dashi are added to season it, the label reads "ajitsuke ponzu" or "ponzu shoyu." The orange bottle most of us call ponzu in everyday speech is almost always the latter, and it is the seasoned type you can pour straight onto yudofu or a hot pot.
How can I tell whether a ponzu has no additives?
Read three things on the ingredient list. First, is the citrus named specifically (sudachi, yuzu, kabosu and so on)? Second, are dashi ingredients such as katsuobushi and kombu stated by name? Third, is there no entry for seasoning (amino acids), acidulant, or flavoring? Ingredients are listed in order of quantity used, so what sits at the top is a clue as well.
Which ponzu with no additives should I start with?
Rather than a bottle where the juice dominates, one that balances dashi against citrus is easier to live with. Uchibori Jozo's Mino Tokusen Ajitsuke Ponzu, from Yaotsu in Gifu, blends sudachi and yuzu juice into a first-run dashi of Rishiri kombu and katsuobushi from Makurazaki, with no chemical seasoning, acidulant, or flavoring. At around 1,899 yen for 3 bottles of 360ml, it is easy to keep on hand.
