East Asia · Japan

Yuzu & Pear

A Japanese citrus, softened by the quiet sweetness of ripe pear.

Yuzu is winter's citrus in Japan — knobbled, intensely fragrant, far too sharp to eat as fruit. It lives at the edges of a meal: a few drops over grilled fish, a single curl of peel resting in clear broth, the whole fruit set afloat in a hot bath on the solstice. It is used sparingly, always, and always for its perfume.

Here it meets pear — pale, soft, quietly sweet — with whole milk and yogurt to round the edges and a touch of ginger to keep everything awake. The yuzu stays bright and faintly bitter; the pear and honey fold around it without ever covering it. Gentle, but never flat — a smoothie built on the same restraint the fruit itself asks for.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Core the pears and roughly chop them. There is no need to peel — the skin blends away smooth.
  2. Add the pears, whole milk, and Greek yogurt to the blender.
  3. Add the yuzu juice, honey, and grated ginger.
  4. Add the ice and blend until completely smooth, then pour into the cup.
  5. Serve and enjoy.

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