It turns out Aki ordered two trees with aromatic leaves: the finger lime and the yuzu. That is great since we both have black thumbs and we need to get something out of this homegrown thing we are trying. In actuality, we are both thrilled by the bounty bestowed upon us. We have always wanted to integrate unique citrus leaves into our cooking and have been stonewalled by a lack of aroma. Thankfully, we now have a wide-open path. Of course, now the question arises about how many leaves we may pilfer before we weaken the trees whose fruit we are trying to grow. In any case, the addition of the finger lime leaf and the yuzu leaf to our repertoire has added a broad spectrum not just to our cooking but also to our cocktails. The yuzu leaf has the aroma of fresh yuzu juice married with the pine attributes we associate with its rind and natural oils. In chewing it, we get a clean bite of yuzu meets pine meets green. An amazing taste with no real bitter notes and a world of aromatic potential.
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