Kinome is the young sprout of the Japanese pepper tree called “sansho,” and is one of the signature scents reminding you of spring. From spring to early summer, we often use it as “suikuchi,” a fancy garnish, in dishes like soups and simmered foods.Kinome’s aroma combines the fresh scent of citrus peel with a sharp spiciness and a refreshing herbal note.
There is also “jime,” a slightly larger sprout of sansho tree grown in open fields. Rather than a decorative effect like kinome, jime is often ground into “kinome miso” (ground kinome mixed with miso), or sprinkled over rice dishes. Plus, sansho flowers are very fragrant and we sometimes use them as a garnish for simmered dishes.
In Japanese cuisine, kinome is the symbol of spring, while yuzu is the fall and winter version. These two ingredients are must-have seasonings that add a pop of seasonality to dishes.
In our April cooking class, we will make a menu featuring seasonal ingredients like wakatake-ni (simmered bamboo shoots and wakame seaweed) and chicken and bamboo shoot rice. We use plenty of kinome, which goes perfectly with bamboo shoots for this menu. You’ll see carefully shaped kinome leaves placed on top of wakatake-ni, and finely chopped jime sprinkled over the chicken and bamboo shoot rice.
