Prized by chefs for its distinctive floral fragrance and complex lemon-lime flavor, the golf-ball-size yuzu is a fairly frost-resistant hybrid of an ancient citrus called Ichang papeda and a sour mandarin orange. Sumile Sushi’s Josh DeChellis, an old yuzu pro from his days at Union Pacific, uses this quick yuzu-marmalade recipe, below, for everything from slathering on toast to spooning over ice cream. --Robin Raisfeld & Rob Patronite

Ingredients

1 fresh yellow yuzu (available at Sunrise Mart)
2 ounces sugar
2 ounces unsalted yuzu juice, plus 1/2 teaspoon (available at Asian markets; you can also substitute unsalted sudachi juice or 1/2 ounce salted yuzu juice with 11/2 ounces lemon juice)
1 ounce elderflower syrup (at Kalustyan’s)
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon pectin (at Kalustyan’s)

Instructions

Remove seeds from fresh yuzu, and (1) chop the fruit roughly into approximately 1/2-inch pieces. Put chopped yuzu in a small saucepot. Add sugar, yuzu juice, elderflower syrup, and 2 tablespoons of water. Cook over very low heat until the zest of the yuzu is soft (about 8 minutes). Taste and add more sugar if it is too bitter. (2) Add the pectin and (3) whisk until thickened. Remove from heat and cool. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of yuzu juice.

To Serve
Add to salad dressings, meat sauces, or mix with wasabi paste and olive oil to dress a scallop seviche.

(Published 2007)