Created by Ms. Kazuko Yasuzawa, who worked in life insurance for 35 years to support her family. While it is customary for insurance agents in Japan to give candy to their clients, Ms. Yasuzawa decided that she wanted to stand out and gift something spicy, not sweet. 

Yuzukararin was born, and she became famous for her concoction of green yuzu peels, red chili, and salt. Making one jar took her 3 hours, as she hand-ground the chili and yuzu peels in a suribachi and dry roasted the chilis in a wok. 

To this day, Ms. Yasuzawa and her two female employees are the only people who know the recipe. Not even her husband knows!  

Ms. Yasuzawa’s favorite ways to use Yuzukararin

• Sprinkle on top of vanilla ice cream 

• Add a tablespoon to a bag of potato chips and shake 

• Mix with mayo and use as a dip for french fries or nuggets

• Or add to udon, yakitori, steak, cheese, eggs, pizza, sausage, gyoza, curry, and more!