Nihon Chomiryo Tabi
Where does yuzu kosho come from?
- The place usually named as its origin is the mountains of Hita City (日田市) in Oita Prefecture. It is yuzu country, and a keeping condiment is said to have been put up there for a long time.
- But accounts of the origin differ, and households across Kyushu have long made something similar.
- One of the earliest to sell it as a product is Kawadu Shokuhin in Maetsue (前津江), Hita, founded in 1963. It still makes "tsubu" yuzu kosho, chopped rather than ground.
- The name carries the word for pepper, but there is not a single peppercorn in it. In parts of Kyushu, chili has long been called "kosho", and the name stayed.
"Where does yuzu kosho come from?" The short answer: the mountains of Hita City (日田市) in Oita Prefecture are what people usually name. Accounts of the origin differ, though, and households across Kyushu have made much the same condiment for a long time.
One of the earliest to carry it out into the wider world is Kawadu Shokuhin in Maetsue (前津江), Hita, founded in 1963. As one of the houses in yuzu kosho's home country, it still makes the "tsubu" version, chopped rather than ground.
Hita in Oita, named as the birthplace
Hita sits in western Oita, up in the mountains near the borders with Fukuoka and Kumamoto. Yuzu grows there, the winters bite, and the conditions for putting up a condiment that keeps were all in place. Yuzu peel, chili, salt: a condiment you can make with nothing but what is at hand is said to have been put up in home kitchens there.
As for how far back it goes, this was a household taste handed down over generations, and the exact origin is not known. One of the earliest to sell it as a product is Kawadu Shokuhin in Maetsue, Hita. Since its founding in 1963 it has kept making yuzu kosho, working from its mountain yuzu groves and its own closely held proportions.
On the birthplace, note that accounts differ. Kyushu is a place where yuzu and chili both grow, and not only Oita but Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Miyazaki have households that put up something similar. Closer to the truth than "it was born in Hita" is something like: it arose on its own in the mountains of Kyushu, and Hita is the place most widely spoken of as its birthplace.
Why it is called "kosho"
Yuzu kosho is made from just 3 things: yuzu peel, chili and salt. No pepper goes in.
The reason is in the name. In parts of Kyushu, chili has long been called "kosho." Made from yuzu and kosho, meaning chili, it becomes yuzu kosho. The name is a record of the ingredients, plainly.
It is easier to hold onto next to the question of where the condiment came from. A condiment named in Kyushu dialect is a condiment born in the mountains of Kyushu, and the name says so.
Ground or chopped: the "tsubu" of the home country
Most yuzu kosho on the shelf is a paste, with the yuzu peel and chili ground together. It mixes evenly and dissolves easily into a dish.
There is also "tsubu" yuzu kosho, chopped instead of ground. It is the method Kawadu Shokuhin in Maetsue, Hita has kept to since its founding in 1963. The grains stay whole, and bite one and the scent of yuzu and the heat burst at once. If the paste is a condiment that dissolves into things, the coarse kind is closer to a condiment that takes the lead. It is one form of yuzu kosho, kept by one house in the town named as its birthplace.
The other fork is green or red. "Ao yuzu kosho," made from still-green yuzu and green chili, is sharp in scent with heat that goes straight up. The kind made from ripe yellow yuzu and red chili is rounder in scent and reddish in color.
The taste of the home country, and the taste of somewhere else
Even within Kyushu, the yuzu variety and the making differ by district, and the scent comes out differently.
Shiromi (銀鏡) in Saito City (西都市), Miyazaki Prefecture, is the leading yuzu district in that prefecture. Kagura no Sato, the farming company that started there in 1978, grows the yuzu and processes it on the same ground, so the fruit goes straight from the harvest to its own plant. The ingredients are organic yuzu and organic chili. Its ao yuzu kosho lives on the sharp scent only green yuzu gives.
The "tsubu" of Oita, named as the birthplace, and the organic green of Miyazaki. Both are called yuzu kosho, and the way they arrive in the mouth is nothing alike. Taste them side by side once you know the story of the origin, and you start to see how wide Kyushu is, and how much room a condiment has to grow differently house by house and district by district.
How to use yuzu kosho
- Stirred into the dipping sauce for mizutaki or yudofu
- Beside yakitori or karaage, as the condiment that cuts the fat
- On white-fish sashimi, in place of wasabi (green suits this)
- A little dropped into udon or miso soup for the scent
- In pasta, in carpaccio, or rubbed on chicken before cooking
The scent is the whole point, so keep it refrigerated after opening and use it up while it is fresh. From the coarse-chopped "tsubu" of Hita to the green of Shiromi in Miyazaki, one name covers scents that stand up quite differently. Start with a chopstick's worth in a hot pot.
Frequently asked questions
Where did yuzu kosho originate?
It is a condiment long made in the mountains of Kyushu, and the mountains of Hita City in Oita Prefecture are most often named as its birthplace. Accounts differ, though, and households across Kyushu have made similar condiments. One of the earliest to bring it to market is Kawadu Shokuhin in Maetsue, Hita, founded in 1963.
How long has yuzu kosho been made?
As a household condiment it is said to have been put up in the mountains of Kyushu for a very long time, but the exact origin is not known. One of the earliest examples of it reaching a wide market is Kawadu Shokuhin in Maetsue, Hita, which has been making yuzu kosho since 1963.
Why is Hita City in Oita named as the birthplace?
The mountains around Hita grow yuzu, the winters are hard, and a culture of putting up condiments that keep is said to have taken root there. Accounts of the origin differ, however, and similar condiments have been made in homes across Kyushu.
The name contains the word for pepper, so is there really no pepper in it?
There is none. The ingredients are basically 3: yuzu peel, chili and salt. In parts of Kyushu, chili has long been called "kosho," and that local name is what carried over into the name of the condiment.
What is the difference between green-yuzu and yellow-yuzu yuzu kosho?
The "ao yuzu kosho" made from green (unripe) yuzu and green chili has a sharp scent and a heat that stands up. The red kind, made from ripe yellow yuzu and red chili, is rounder in scent and reddish in color. The usual split is green with sashimi and chicken, red with hot pots and slow-cooked dishes.
