Kasugai Yuzu Gummy Candy

I recently saw a picture of a Japanese granny in her bathtub on Facebook. No, I wasn't "liking" the Japanese old lady porn page. The truth is that, while I'm pretty sure such a page exists, I'm very, very frightened of doing a search to verify that possibility. The picture was there because she'd bonded with a cat, probably a stray cat, and they supposedly are now inseparable. I guess that's why the cat was watching her take a bath. It doesn't explain why someone with a camera was there watching her take one, too, but then we're right back to the Japanese granny porn.

You might wonder what this topic has to do with yuzu. That puzzlement would certainly be understandable, but that's only because I'm slow in getting to the point. The old lady in her tub was nearly surrounded by floating citrus fruit. That obscured her old-lady parts and made the picture far less terrifying than it might have otherwise been. (Note: I have nothing against old lady parts. In fact, at 49, I'm close to having those myelf. I just don't really want to look at them. If you do, then more power to you so long as you're indulging with a consenting granny.)

That picture reminded me of the fact that many Japanese folks like to put yuzu in their baths and that it was more common at one point to bath with it than to eat it. That was before it became a trending flavor (in the past five or so years) and got pleasantly rolled into so many sweets. As a tart citrus fruit, that is where yuzu can truly shine, though it also works in a number of savory implementations.

The candy smells a little lemony and a little floral. The flavor bursts onto your tongue the moment you start chewing. It releases a sweet flavor which has hints of lemon, but is closer in total flavor to an orange. There is a whisper of grapefruit at the end that reveals itself in a tiny, bitter end note.

The texture is on the softer side and they are easy to chew. They're pleasant in this way, and much nicer than some of the tougher gummy candies I've tried, but they're almost too soft in that they separate too fast and divide in your mouth such that it's harder to keep the little blobs on your tongue and savor the flavor. This makes it a better flavor experience to suck on them, but that defeats the purpose of a gummy.

These are very tasty and the only "fault" I can find with them is the price. Usually, Japanese gummy candies are over $3.00 per bag for about a 3.5 oz. bag. I picked these up at Lion Asian market on sale for $1.99, but I had seen them around in other stores for $3.50 in the past. I had to wait a long time for a price reduction.

I whole-heartedly recommend these and would definitely have them again, but I'd still wait for a better price. They're excellent gummy candy in a fairly unique flavor, but they're still gummy. And, as an aside - admit it - you want to see that granny bath picture now, don't you?