``I found a delicious juice,'' Ai Hosokawa told me, and this is the recipe for ``Citrus Can''.

There is a town called Tensui in Tamana City, Kumamoto Prefecture. This town, which faces the Ariake Sea, has flourished in mandarin orange cultivation since ancient times, and is still known as one of Kumamoto Prefecture's leading mandarin producing areas.

In Tensui Town, there is the Tensui Welfare Association, a social welfare corporation that operates nursery schools for the disabled and the elderly, as well as an orchard that is cultivated together with the disabled. Here, citrus fruits called zakan are mainly cultivated. Zakan refers to fruits of unknown origin among citrus fruits, such as summer mandarin oranges and hassaku.

There are some fruits that you don't often see in supermarkets, but I started making juice because I want more people to know about their deliciousness. This is exactly what Hosokawa was talking about as delicious juice.

``Usually, I just eat fruit as it is and rarely drink juice, but I was first drawn to the outer package, then when I peeled off the paper I was drawn to the label inside, and then when I tried drinking it, I realized how good it was. I completely fell in love with the scent," says Hosokawa.

There are three flavors of juice.

``Hamikan juice'' is made by squeezing the small leaves of mandarin oranges that are displayed on top of kagami mochi, and although it is characterized by its rich sweetness, it is rarely distributed these days because it has many seeds and is difficult to eat. By hand peeling each piece, you can enjoy the full flavor of the fruit.

The fruit of the ``Mixed Juice'' changes every year. This year, they are Satsuma mandarin oranges and Sweet Spring.

And this time, Hosokawa used ``pomelo juice'' for the citrus fruit. Pomelo is an unfamiliar fruit, but it refers to grapefruit in Spanish. The official variety is called ``Yugehyoukan.'' The taste is softer than grapefruit, with a slight sourness and sweetness. It has a refreshing taste. All of our products are made with fruit grown with care and love.

Enjoy the deliciousness of fruits grown with the blessings of the sun

Of course, you can enjoy the juice as is, but why not add some extra effort and make it into a citrus fruit juice? If this agar is exposed to cold wind for about a week, it becomes ``amber sugar.''

Amber sugar is also called an edible gemstone because of its transparency and slightly colored shine. You might be surprised if you can make this at home, but according to Hosokawa, it's actually easy. Hosokawa usually makes it with just water and sugar, but he also made ``amber sugar'' along with agar to take advantage of the flavor and beautiful color of the juice.

This juice-based recipe is a dish that conveys Hosokawa's desire to enjoy this juice with care.

(Titles omitted)

Citrus can (for 4 people)

4 bunches of your favorite citrus fruits
Citrus agar
Thread agar 5g
120g water
citrus juice 80g
200g granulated sugar
1 citrus peel

Soak the string agar in water for at least an hour, then drain and add to the pot.
Add water, cover and heat over medium heat.
When it boils and the string agar has completely melted, add the citrus juice and granulated sugar, and bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring.
Remove the agar liquid with a small spoon and drop it onto a plate until the edges of the circle no longer bleed, then turn off the heat.
Add grated citrus peel, mix, and pour into a vat to the desired thickness and harden.
Cut the citrus into pieces that are easy to wrap, wrap tightly, and place in a bowl.

*For the citrus juice this time, we used pomelo juice and pomelo, which is an ingredient in the juice.

This time's order

juice
Tensui Welfare Business Association

Products: Tangerine juice, mixed juice, pomelo juice
Price: 720ml 1,296 Yen
Purchase method: Purchase at online shop

Ai Hosokawa

Cook. He hosts cooking classes and cooking parties in taishoji, Kumamoto. "Toast" (BON Publishing), "Standard Cooking Collection" (Anonyma Studio), "Travel and Cooking" (CCC Media House), and "Taishoji Cookbook 1.2" (Shobunsha) are currently on sale.

Photography by Ai Hosokawa