Refreshing Virgin Kabosu, Honey and Kombucha Spritzer #SP3680

At the beginning of the week, I took a relaxing stroll on my farm to find inspiration for my next recipe.  It has always been my dream to cultivate my own organic produce, and in turn, create recipes with products I can trust and choose myself. 

Since the start of 2020, when the pandemic hit, it became clearer to me how important it is to be self-sufficient, focusing on learning to farm, as well as to ferment foods, not only for preservation, but also for health purposes.

I am well aware that kombucha has been quite the trend in the past few years, but only decided to really explore its health properties recently and have since found much enjoyment in developing my own.  

With signs of spring approaching (I noticed the buds of my Sakura tree starting to take form), I thought celebrating signs of warmth would be best accompanied by a refreshing sparkling citrus beverage – and so the recipe below came into fruition. 

After picking my organic “late” kabosu fruits during my last stroll (normally in season between August and October – and green in color), I blended their fresh juice with my homemade kombucha, organic honey – cultivated by a producer in Miyazaki, as well as with Italian San Pellegrino sparkling water.  

Kabosu is actually quite a rare fruit, even in Japan, and is primarily found and cultivated in the Oita prefecture, Japan, where my farm is located.  If of course, you have limited access to this citrus fruit, it can definitely be substituted by other slightly bitter and slightly sweet fruits, such as grapefruit or yuzu.

This blended drink can be enjoyed on its own, or even between meals as a palate cleanser, combining the slight bitter notes and tanginess of the Kabosu juice with a hint of fruitiness from the kombucha and delicate sweet / floral notes from the organic honey. Top this off with refreshing San Pellegrino and stir with a sprig of freshly picked rosemary (harvested from my garden), and you have a delightful beverage that can be enjoyed for any occasion!

Salute!

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp organic honey (or more based on your taste)

20 ml kombucha

40 ml kabosu juice

100 ml San Pellegrino sparkling water

1 sprig of rosemary

METHOD 

  • Squeeze the juice of 1-2 kabosu to obtain 40 ml of juice.
  • Combine with 20 ml kombucha (can also find in some supermarkets), 1 tbsp honey, and 100 ml San Pellegrino sparkling water.
  • Stir the beverage with a sprig of rosemary, (that you leave inside the beverage) together with the zest of the fruit.
  • Serve with ice cubes, nice and chilled.

Collaboration with https://www.sanpellegrino.com/jp/jp

Published by Salvatore Cuomo

Salvatore Cuomo was born in Naples, Italy, in 1972, son of an Italian father and Japanese mother. Cuomo was first inspired by his father who also was an Italian Chef in Naples. He began at the young age of 11, where he trained himself in the kitchen and traveled frequently between Italy and Japan. He gradually learned how to blend the traditional Italian art of cooking with the Japanese art of perfection. A few years later he traveled to Japan with his father who opened an Italian restaurant in Chiba in 1984. About those early years Salvatore told the press that it wasn't a good starting experience: "I didn’t like Japan at all, so after one year, I went back to Italy and spent 2–3 years studying at a culinary school. When I was 18, I returned to Japan after my father became terminally ill and I have been here ever since."[3] Cuomo said that Italian Cuisine was just starting to get popular in those days. He and his two brothers decided that in order to succeed in the restaurant business in Japan they would have to understand the Japanese food mentality. They spent a couple of years researching the market before opening a new restaurant in Tokyo with what Cuomo calls "Original Neapolitan pizza." Since that time, Cuomo has been credited with catapulting Neapolitan pizza to fame in Japan, and today in all Asia with over 100 restaurant.

Leave a Reply