What is Kewpie mayonnaise?

An image of Kewpie mayonnaise
Since its launch in 1925, this mayonnaise has been the most popular mayonnaise in Japan!

Find out why Mayonnaise has become a citizen on the dinner table

Japan is not a large country. Even so, fresh produce from the sea and mountains is abundant. Even without a large-scale distribution system in place, we Japanese have been able to obtain fresh ingredients in fresh conditions easily.

This is thought to have given rise to a raw food culture in which vegetables, eggs, fish, and even internal organs such as horse meat, beef, and liver are eaten raw. Since fresh ingredients are readily available, it is only natural that there is no need to make unnecessary modifications to them. For this reason, Japanese cuisine has become dominated by methods that do not require much modification of the ingredients. In Italy, the ingredients are fresh, and in China and France, cooking techniques have developed to compensate for the lack of freshness of ingredients. This is just my personal opinion.

And speaking of Japan’s unique food culture, we must not forget its rice culture. Japanese rice is japonica rice, which is light and delicate in flavor. Inevitably, the rice is not eaten by itself but is accompanied by a strong-flavored side dish.

This is likely what led to the development of flavorful seasonings in Japan. The traditional Japanese soy sauce and miso, not to mention ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, which are two of the most popular sauces in Western cuisine, along with mayonnaise, are seasonings with a very distinct flavor. Likewise, mayonnaise is a strong-flavored seasoning, so it is assumed that side dishes made with it went well with rice.

In general, the Japanese palate is said to be well suited to amino acids and the peptide umami before it becomes an amino acid, and this amino acid is found mainly in fermented foods. Japan’s mild and humid climate is ideal for the production of fermented seasonings, and it is no wonder that miso (fermented soybean paste), soy sauce, and salted fish, which are fermented foods, have developed.

Interestingly, mayonnaise also begins to mature about a week after it is made, and the protein contained in the egg yolk in mayonnaise is broken down into amino acids and peptides, resulting in the umami that the Japanese like. Mayonnaise is usually not pasteurized because it separates when heated. This phenomenon occurs because the mayonnaise is still alive after being packed in the container.

Compared to the Western type of mayonnaise, which uses whole eggs, the yolk type of mayonnaise is more common in Japan. The yolk has a higher umami of amino acids and peptides than the egg white, and this may be the reason why Japanese mayonnaise has adapted well to Japanese tastes. The combination of this taste backbone and the umami of Japanese-style mayonnaise has helped mayonnaise to firmly establish itself in Japanese food culture.

 

What kind of food is mayonnaise?

I said mayonnaise is a food, but many people may think of it as a condiment. Mayonnaise, as you know, is made from vinegar, oil, and eggs. In Europe, where it originated, it was made from lemon juice, wine vinegar, olive oil, and eggs. However, in modern Europe, mayonnaise seems to be made at home, unlike in the United States or Japan.

Mayonnaise has some notable characteristics. First, the oil in mayonnaise has the effect of masking the bitterness of the food. Furthermore, the oiliness of mayonnaise is reduced by emulsification, making it very easy to eat. The bitterness of vegetables is sometimes unacceptable, but mayonnaise envelops it. Meat marinated in mayonnaise becomes tender. It has the effect of softening the hardened tissues of meat. Mayonnaise quickly removes the odor of raw fish. The sour vinegar flavor overcomes the unpleasant smell of raw fish, and when it is eliminated, it has so many positive aspects that there is no end to it.

Japanese mayonnaise is restricted by JAS standards for consumer safety. Incidentally, JAS is based on the standards of the U.S. FDA. According to the standard, mayonnaise contains 65% or more edible vegetable oil, vinegar and citrus juice, egg yolk and egg white, salt, sugar, spices, chemical seasonings, acidifiers, and citric acid. In Japan, mayonnaise may not contain any preservatives, emulsion stabilizers, food coloring, or soy protein. Yellow mayonnaise is just made with lots of eggs. This is why the JAS standard does not allow the use of food coloring that misleads people into thinking that there are lots of eggs in the product.

 

Why doesn’t commercial mayonnaise go bad?

Japanese standards for mayonnaise prohibit the use of any preservatives or food coloring. It is natural to ask the question, then, why mayonnaise does not spoil when it is made from egg yolks.

Simply put, think of pickles pickled in vinegar. Depending on the method of production, they can be stored for a year or more. The reason for this is that the acetic acid in vinegar has powerful bactericidal properties.

According to mayonnaise standards, at least 65% of the edible vegetable oil does not go rancid. The sterilizing power depends on how much acetic acid and salt are present in the remaining 35% of the ingredients.

Homemade mayonnaise made at home or in a restaurant is used up quickly, so there is no need to think about shelf life, just make it to your own taste. However, this is not the case with store-bought mayonnaise. And since mayonnaise is not heat sterilized, its composition is very important to prevent it from spoiling in its raw state. Of course, it is also important to manufacture it hygienically in a factory. The combination is determined by considering factors such as the fact that it must not separate during transportation and that it must have a taste preferred by the consumer.

According to actual bacterial test data, Escherichia coli is killed in 6 hours in mayonnaise. Staphylococcus and salmonella, which cause food poisoning, are killed in 24 hours. Even the yeast Hansenula anomala, which is relatively acid-resistant, dies in about 8 days.

As a general guideline, raw food is considered hygienic if it contains less than 100,000 live bacteria per gram. Frozen food that is heated and eaten meets the criteria of the Food Sanitation Law with a count of 3 million live bacteria or less per gram. Normally, it is considered that even if there are 100,000 bacteria per gram of food, the food will not spoil, but if the bacteria count exceeds that level, the food will gradually start to spoil or go rancid. In other words, most bacteria die in mayonnaise. Therefore, it is safe to assume that commercial mayonnaise is first of all free of bacteria.

 

Why is vinegar good for your health?

The answer is simple. It is because vinegar lubricates the citric acid cycle. In 1953, Dr. Hans Krebs of England won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on the pathway of tissue respiration in the human body. This is called the citric acid cycle, which is the only mechanism that produces the energy necessary for life, and without this cycle, organisms cannot live!

The problem here is that during strenuous exercise or illness, large amounts of glucose are burned, creating an abnormally high amount of pyruvate, which is further converted into lactic acid. That lactic acid makes body fluids and blood acidic, causing so-called Acidosis. In addition, lactic acid combines with proteins in body tissues to form lactic acid protein, which causes stiff shoulders and muscle pain, as well as increased deposition of cholesterol, leading to arteriosclerosis and hypertension.

At this time, it is explained that when vinegar is eaten with salads, the organic acids contained in vinegar, such as acetic acid, malic acid, and citric acid, can smoothly advance the citric acid cycle and bring lactic acid back into the cycle. In other words, vinegar has been elucidated to act as a lubricant for the Citric acid cycle.

The vinegar in mayonnaise does more than just accentuate the delicious taste; it also helps to clear away fatigue. The Citric acid cycle explains why the blood and body fluids of healthy people are slightly alkaline and become acidic when tired or ill. It also depends on the diet. Eating only acidic foods, i.e., meat and seafood, will cause the blood and body fluids to become more acidic, and cholesterol will be deposited in the blood vessels more easily. The diet must be well-balanced. This is where vinegar comes into play. Vinegar is burned efficiently in the body and is incorporated into the metabolic mechanism to act as an alkaline food. Other effects include increasing appetite and aiding digestion, and it is also very effective in cleaning the body and activating the body’s internal energy.

Where does mayonnaise’s good taste come from?

Mayonnaise is an oil-rich food. Oil stimulates the brain to release hormones that make us want to eat again. However, oil does not remain in its original state, but is scattered throughout the food, creating a richness. Humans respond to this richness with a sense of deliciousness. In other words, mayonnaise is a synergy between the richness created by the oil mixed and dispersed in the egg and the richness of the egg yolk itself.

What makes mayonnaise different from other seasonings is that it contains the egg itself, rather than food extracts or essences. We believe that mayonnaise itself may be regarded as an independent food or dish, beyond the framework of a mere sauce.

Isn’t too much mayonnaise bad for you?

One of the main components of mayonnaise is egg, a food high in cholesterol. However, since mayonnaise is a food high in cholesterol, it is too early to assume that it is bad for you.

The main functions of cholesterol include “making cell membranes,” “making bile acids,” and “being a raw material for sex hormones and adrenal corticosteroids. The production of cell membranes is the basic building block of the human body, without which the human body would not exist. Bile acids are necessary for digestion, and without normal amounts of bile acids in the body, digestion would be out of balance. The same is true for hormones. Without a certain amount of cholesterol in the body, the human body cannot function normally.

The term “cholesterol” refers to both HDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is necessary for the body, and most of the cholesterol contained in egg yolks is HDL cholesterol. On the other hand, LDL cholesterol, which is said to cause arteriosclerosis, is not in itself bad. It is believed that oxidized LDL cholesterol, which is created when LDL cholesterol is oxidized by active oxygen, damages the vascular wall, causing inflammation and arteriosclerosis.

Cholesterol is not only ingested through diet. About 70% of the cholesterol needed by the body is synthesized in the body, and the remaining 30% is taken in by the diet. Incidentally, the amount of cholesterol synthesized by the body is 600~700mg per day. On the other hand, a 50 g egg contains about 235 mg of cholesterol. The proportion of egg in Mayonnaise is lower than it appears, and the amount of cholesterol contained in a tablespoon (15g) is only 24mg. This is not an amount to be concerned about.

The human body is well designed to maintain balance by reducing the amount of cholesterol synthesized in the body when the amount of cholesterol in the diet is too high. In addition, cholesterol is transported from the liver to each tissue, and conversely, cholesterol is collected from each tissue to the liver, thereby keeping the amount of cholesterol in the blood at a constant level. The problem is not the intake of cholesterol itself, but the imbalance of cholesterol in the blood.

And an experiment has been conducted with surprising results. Healthy subjects and hyperlipidemic subjects were given 15 g of Kewpie mayonnaise per day for 12 weeks in addition to their conventional diet, and the lipid levels in their blood were measured. The total cholesterol concentration in the blood of the healthy subjects was slightly decreased. The hyperlipidemic subjects also showed a decreasing trend. It would seem that a constant intake of mayonnaise would increase the amount of cholesterol, but in the experiment, there was no trend toward an increase. In addition, there was no change in body weight after 12 weeks of mayonnaise consumption, a result that defies the conventional wisdom about mayonnaise. Similar experiments have been conducted elsewhere with the same results.

New Possibilities for Eggs

The amount of choline needed per day is said to be around 450 mg. 1 egg weighing 60~70 g contains 1000 mg of choline. 1 tablespoon of 15 g of mayonnaise contains about 110 mg of choline, which is 1/4 of the daily requirement. One-quarter of the daily requirement of choline can be obtained from a 15 g spoonful of mayonnaise. Incidentally, 200 cc of milk contains 28 mg, and a tablespoon of butter contains 20.4 mg, so eggs are by far the most efficient way to eat.

Mayonnaise contains a lot of salt

Mayonnaise is a sour and salty food, and while one may worry about too much salt if one eats too much, it is much less salty than one would generally imagine. The saltiness is due to the seasonings and spices. It contains less salt than other seasonings. Mayonnaise has 0.3 g of salt per tablespoon, the lowest amount of salt among the major seasonings, compared to 0.6 g of ketchup, 3 mg of soy sauce, and 2 mg of miso. Despite its low salt content, the full-bodied mayonnaise can add a lot of flavors to ingredients even in small amounts, and may be considered a good choice for dieting.

Does eating mayonnaise make me fat?

Usually, a tablespoon of mayonnaise has 100 kcal. One hot dog has about 289 kcal, so three tablespoons would be the same calories. It is certainly a high-calorie food. It is a very oily food, but the vinegar makes it surprisingly refreshing, which is one of the reasons why we tend to eat a lot of it. We should not eat too much of this food just because it tastes good but try to eat about 1 tablespoon per meal. It is not harmful to your body even if you continue to eat it every day, but only if you know how much to eat. It is not recommended to eat so much that you can’t see the salad. Instead of worrying about gaining weight, one should try to eat a well-balanced diet by eating green and yellow vegetables together.

Pairing mayonnaise with other foods

The range of uses for mayonnaise is unlimited. Please listen to this article without preconceived notions that mayonnaise would not be suitable for such foods. First of all, in the case of Japanese food, it is difficult to find foods that mayonnaise does not go well with, such as broiled eel, tempura, yakitori, oden, chilled tofu, soba noodles, and so on. Other than that, it goes well with all kinds of food such as gyoza, ramen, shumai, spring rolls, bibimbap, kimchi, tom yang kung, beef stew, omelets, curry rice, minestrone, edamame, banana, apple, orange, apple pie, pudding, chocolate, donuts, and many others. It can soften the aroma of stinky foods, freshen oily foods with its acidity, and deepen the flavor of overly light foods with the richness of eggs.

The emergence of polyethylene multi-layered containers

When Mayonnaise was launched in Japan, it was in glass bottles. In the 1960s, plastic was developed, polyethylene containers appeared, and bottling containers were quickly converted to polyethylene containers. Glass bottles were used because oxygen permeation would oxidize the mayonnaise oil and form peroxides, which would gradually ruin the flavor. However, the ability to squeeze out without using a spoon seems to have been significant, and it seems to have been replaced.

The difference in preservation effect on mayonnaise between polyethylene containers and glass bottles was that polyethylene alone had the disadvantage of poor preservation compared to bottling due to its oxygen permeability.

In the 1970s, technological advances made it possible to improve the oxygen permeability of polyethylene. A three-layer technology was developed, with polyethylene on both sides and an oxygen-impermeable plastic-like eval resin in between.

The three-layer polyethylene-eval resin-polyethylene container is used today for most food containers. This has greatly improved the shelf life of mayonnaise and has made bottled and polyethylene multi-layer containers nearly identical in terms of quality.

Bottled mayonnaise is more prone to oxidation after opening because of the large area exposed to air when the lid is opened. Polyethylene multi-layer containers have become the mainstream in Japan because of their advantages such as easy squeezability, no risk of breakage, lightweight, and low container cost.

 

Here is a summary of the characteristics of Kewpie mayonnaise.

The main ingredients of Kewpie mayonnaise are also oil, eggs, and vinegar. Of course, each of these ingredients should be carefully selected and good ones used, but the strange thing about mayonnaise is that it does not taste perfectly delicious on its own.

What became clear in Kewpie’s laboratory is that what is important is the compatibility of vinegar and oil, and vinegar is a major key, especially in terms of umami. Surprisingly, vinegar and oil go together better when they are both strong. If one of the habits is weak, the other will win out and instantly become unbalanced.

Let’s look at the history of the oil used in Kewpie mayonnaise. In the postwar period when mayonnaise became popular, cottonseed oil from cotton seeds was mainly used. Since this oil has a strong habit, it was combined with malt vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and other vinegar with strong characteristics. However, with the development of synthetic fibers in the 1960s, cotton cultivation decreased and cottonseed became scarce. This made it difficult to secure cottonseed oil, and other oils with weaker characteristics were used instead. Kewpie has changed the vinegar to match the oil.

These days, Kewpie uses a blend of vinegar made from sake lees and grains. The ingredients of oil that are good for the body are generally considered to be oleic acid, linoleic acid, and α-linolenic acid in the ratio of 60:32:8. Rapeseed oil, for example, is close to this ratio, and Kewpie uses salad oil that is also close to this ratio.

Although oil accounts for the largest proportion of ingredients, vinegar can be said to be the key to flavor. Taste preferences are said to change over time; for example, Kewpie mayonnaise was sourer in the past. The percentage of vinegar is said to be less now than in the past. In the past, there were few homes with air conditioning, and people sweated a lot. Therefore, mayonnaise with a lot of vinegar and a strong flavor was preferred. On the other hand, today, air conditioning is available everywhere, and people do not sweat as much, so the amount of vinegar is less than in the past.

Compared to mayonnaise made overseas, Japanese mayonnaise generally contains almost double the amount of vinegar. This is because mayonnaise is a unique egg yolk type of mayonnaise in Japan, and cannot be heat sterilized like other foods because it decomposes when heated. In addition, mayonnaise with high yolk content is prone to spoilage, and to prevent this, a lot of vinegar, a natural preservative, was used. This ultimately made Kewpie mayonnaise tastier.

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Revision date: March 15, 2024


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What is sushi or sashimi grade fish?

sushi or sashimi grade fish photo
Do you know when this fish was caught?

Fish is not only cooked and eaten as grilled or boiled fish but also eaten raw as sushi or sashimi. Naturally, the way to eat fish depends on individual tastes. But in fact, the way we eat fish depends on the time frame after we catch it.

Fish that is still alive or freshly dead is ideal for sashimi. In this case, you should enjoy the elasticity of the flesh, or texture, rather than the umami of the fish. Only the freshest fish is suitable for sashimi. The fish will go rigor mortis within a few hours at the earliest, and within a few days at the latest. The period leading up to rigor mortis is the time when the umami component increases, making it ideal for sushi.

On the other hand, the flesh becomes softer, so it is the sushi chef’s job to find the right balance between the umami and the chewiness of the fish. Of course, for those who prefer fish with more umami, it can also be served as sashimi. The rigor mortis of the fish is eventually dissipated and it gradually begins to decompose, so it is consumed as sashimi or sushi until a certain point in time.

The chef’s job is to determine when the fish cannot be used as sashimi or sushi. After that, the fish will be consumed as grilled or boiled fish. Eventually, the color, taste, and aroma of the fish will change dramatically, and it will reach the so-called putrefied state, making it inedible. The chef’s job is to determine when the fish cannot be used as sashimi or sushi. After that, the fish will be consumed as grilled or boiled fish. Then the color, taste, and aroma change dramatically, and the fish reaches the so-called putrefied state and becomes inedible.

A variety of conditions exist before rigor mortis sets in. Ideally, the fish should be properly processed and cooled as soon as possible after it is caught. Without this, rigor mortis will set in immediately, shortening the time until the rigor mortis is dissipated and speeding up the decomposition process. In other words, it will affect the length of time the fish can be enjoyed.

It is difficult to judge whether fish can only be used for grilled or boiled fish. It is not a simple matter of how many hours after the fish has died. Even if the fish is in sushi or sashimi grade, you can imagine that some are in good condition, and others can only be used almost exclusively for grilling or boiling.

Look around the world and you will see fish being sold around fishing ports as soon as they return from fishing. The fish is truly freshly caught and could not be fresher. Usually, the fish is cooked by dinner at the latest, so the loss of freshness is not a concern at all. People call fish in this state very fresh. To be more precise, it takes a few hours from the time the fisherman catches the fish to the time it is on the market, or at most 12 hours before it is served for dinner. This is what we call sushi or sashimi grade. However, because the fish is not caught in large quantities, it is not distributed to supermarkets in urban areas. This is limited to fishing with small boats.

Large vessels use large nets and other equipment to catch large numbers of fish. When the nets are raised on deck, many of the fish are live. They are quickly sorted, cooled with ice or other means, and placed in refrigerated or frozen storage. Some of the larger fish are stored after Ikejime, etc. Once fishermen go out to fish, they are not allowed to return for at least three days and as long as several months.

Although refrigeration and freezing technology have advanced considerably, freshness is not the same when the fish is caught as it is when it returns to the fishing port. And by the time the fish reaches the supermarket, which is a long way from the fishing port, it is arguably even less fresh. It has already been almost 24 hours since the fishermen caught the fish. It will then spend several days in the supermarket enduring temperature changes and drying out. One wonders if this can be called sushi or sashimi-grade fish.

So far, we think you can understand that this is a typical situation in countries other than Japan.

The situation in Japan is a bit different.

Regardless of the size of the boat, the fish are not allowed to get out of control, Ikejime and other processing is done. And cooling is always done. That is what even the average fisherman does as a matter of course. In other words, it is recognized that keeping fish fresh means delaying the time until rigor mortis.

On top of that, a distribution system has been established to deliver the caught fish to markets and restaurants while keeping them alive. Not only are the fish kept alive, but the know-how to reduce stress during fishing and transportation is shared among fishermen. For example, fish are transported by truck to the consumption area in a state of suspended animation to prevent them from getting out of control. In other cases, fish are not shipped immediately from the fishing port, but are allowed to calm down in a fish tank. By trying to keep the fish as close as possible to the state in which they were swimming in the sea, the fish can recover their original amount of adenosine triphosphate. This is because adenosine triphosphate is the source of umami, which eventually converts to inosinic acid.

In other words, a system is in place to distribute fresher and tastier fish. As a matter of course, it is safe to say that the fish is delivered from the fishing port to the place of consumption and then displayed in supermarkets within 12 hours.

The minimum requirement is that the fish must be usable for sashimi. The words sushi or sashimi grade do not exist in the market. Who caught the fish? What time and minute it was caught? How was it processed? Whether the fish was caught by fishing or by netting, and other details are required. These things change the price of the fish in the market.

In summary, there is no legal definition of sushi or sashimi-grade fish. When seafood is labeled as sashimi grade, it means that the seller, such as a supermarket, has determined that the fish is suitable for sushi or sashimi, based on its evaluation of criteria such as bacteria levels, temperature, parasites, appearance, odor, taste, display method, and time since catch. It is very vague and does not state that they are responsible for any problems that may occur, such as food poisoning. In the extreme, it is merely a marketing term for sales promotion purposes. Above all, they say nothing about actual quality or taste.

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Revision date: March 1, 2024


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What is traditional Ikejime?

a photo of Ikejime Madai
In order to fully drain the blood from the red seabream, the spinal cord at the base of the tail is also cut off.

Articles related to Sushi are now filled with jargon such as Shinkeijime, Chinuki, Noujime, Ikekoshi, and Korijime. That much confirms the fact that opportunities to eat fish are increasing all over the world. And it has also become a common occurrence to find articles written by people who have heard Ikejime in bits and pieces. According to what we have heard, Ikejime processing is one of the reasons why red seabream from Akashi, which is said to be the best in Japan, is so tasty, and the technology has been around since the Edo period (1603-1868).

The Ikejime procedure consists of four parts or some of them, and the point of Ikejime is to kill the fish in a relaxed state.

The first step is a brain-dead the fish by stabbing it in the head with a sharp object. This process is called Noujime (Nou means brain and jime means kill).

After the fish is out of the water and before it gets out of control, it is stabbed in the head with a hook called a Tegaki (手鉤). If the brain is not destroyed by one blow, the fish will struggle. When this happens, a large amount of ATP, which is the source of umami, is consumed. As a point of caution, the right side of the head is stabbed so that the puncture wound is not on the upper side, as the fish will be handled later in the distribution process with the belly facing forward and the head facing to the left.

Next, use a knife to quickly kill the live fish.

Place the fish with its head facing left, open the gill cover, and cut a spinal cord below the lateral line that is visible on the fish’s body. Since bones have hard parts, move the cutting edge slightly to the left and right if it is difficult to cut. If you don’t cut it completely, you have not killed the fish, and the blood will not drain well. To drain the blood sufficiently, the spinal cord at the base of the tail is also cut off. Place the fish’s head to the right and cut the front part of the tail so that the spinal cord is visible. At this point, the knife should be placed at a right angle to the spinal cord so that the cut surface is not at an angle.

The next step is to remove the nerves and delay rigor mortis. This process is called Shinkeijime (Shinkei means nerve).

Shinkeijime is a technique to delay rigor mortis in fish. A wire is inserted into a small hole in the upper part of the spinal cord. When the wire hits the nerve, the fish will act violently, so hold it down. The nerve hole tapers from the head side to the tail, so when stabbing in from the tail side, make sure to insert the wire securely first, so that the wire does not pierce through the nerve hole and pierce the body. Once you have securely inserted the wire, repeatedly pull out and insert the wire to completely destroy the nerve in the hole. When the nerve is destroyed, the body color quickly changes to white. The destroyed nerve appears as a white, sludgy fluid.

Any wire can be used for this purpose as long as it is straight, but a piano wire that does not bend easily can be used many times. The diameter of the nerve hole differs depending on the fish. Use a thick wire for Tai and Suzuki, which have large nerve holes, and a thin wire for Aji and Anago, which have small nerve holes. Several types between 0.8mm and 1.5mm should be enough. As you get used to it, you will be able to stick the wire in without visually seeing the nerve hole. If you remove a few scales from the upper part in front of the tail, insert the wire along the spinal cord, probe the nerve hole, pierce it, and destroy it, you can remove the nerve without making any cuts on the fish’s body. The same applies to the head side. The nerve hole is probed and pierced from the head side, but the key is to keep the head and body straight so that the nerve hole is not misaligned by the spinal cord severed behind the gills. In any case, it takes experience and familiarity to pierce the nerve hole without seeing it.

The final step is to perfectly remove the blood from the fish’s body. In Japanese, it is called Chinuki (Chi means blood and nuki means remove).

The blood is removed by cutting the spinal cord and immersing the fish’s body in seawater. At this time, running water is more reliable to remove blood. In the case of stored water, leave it for a while and then replace it with other stored water. If the water does not turn red with blood, the fish has already been drained. Blood has a tendency to clot, so it is important to wash off any blood that has clotted on the gills or other parts of the body. The body temperature of the fish is raised by the Ikejime process and by human hands. Since the fish were originally in the sea, which has a lower temperature range than that of the ground, the higher temperature increases the speed of deterioration, so the fish is soaked in ice water to lower the temperature of the fish’s body. If the fish is soaked too long, its body surface will turn white, so remove it from the water when it cools down.

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Revision date: August 18, 2023


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What is the difference between fermentation, putrefaction, and maturing?

a photo of soysauce

In academic terms, “fermentation” is a reaction that uses no oxygen to break down carbohydrates to obtain energy. On the other hand, the reaction that uses oxygen to break down organic matter to obtain energy is called “respiration”.

In more familiar terms, microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria, koji-mold, and yeast break down organic compounds such as carbohydrates and proteins to produce a variety of by-products to obtain energy in their own life activities. Among these, “fermentation” is a phenomenon in which beneficial substances are produced for humans, while “putrefaction” is a phenomenon in which harmful substances are produced for humans. Food spoilage can be detected by the five senses, such as smell, appearance, and taste.

What is the difference between fermentation and maturing?

While “fermentation” and “putrefaction” are caused by microorganisms, “maturing” is a process in which the food itself is transformed by enzymes and other substances to produce something beneficial to humans. Or, “maturing” is the process of improving the flavor and quality of food by allowing it to rest under controlled temperature and humidity after fermentation is complete. Maturing is said to be beneficial to humans because it changes the texture and taste of the fish, making it tastier.

In case you are wondering, “enzyme” is mainly composed of protein, which promotes chemical reactions such as digestion, absorption, and metabolism that are necessary for all living things, including humans, animals, and plants, to survive. It is said that there are approximately 5,000 enzymes in our body, but each enzyme is a specialist that performs only one function and is largely divided into “Digestive enzymes” and “Metabolic enzymes.

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Revision date: May 25, 2023


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What is Blue rainbow trout (Cobalt masu)?

a photo of Blue rainbow trout
Blue rainbow trout are an angler’s dream.

The Japanese name for the blue rainbow trout is Cobalt masu, derived from its blue body color. Blue rainbow trout is a mutation in the hatchery production of rainbow trout. This fish lacks the middle lobe of the pituitary gland. This resulted in blue body color. This rare genetic glitch has occurred only in rainbow and brown trout. It is said that one blue rainbow trout is born for every ten of thousand rainbow trout. This trait is inherited recessively. It does not reproduce and is susceptible to disease. Therefore, although it has a beautiful body color, it is difficult to produce in large numbers.

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Revision date: April 8, 2023


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What is Albino rainbow trout?

a photo of Albino rainbow trout
Other Albino fish have a white body color, but the Rainbow trout has a yellow body color.

There is a Rainbow trout with yellow body color.

This is the Albino rainbow trout.

The Albino has no pigmentation. Other Albino fish have a white body color, but the Rainbow trout has a yellow body color. Since its first discovery in 1956 at the Fisheries Experiment Station in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, experiments conducted by crossbreeding Albino with other Albino or Albino with ordinary Rainbow trout have shown that it is genetically dominant. Pure descendants of the Albino are now being produced in aquaculture farms throughout Japan.

Albino is rarely found in the normal production of Rainbow trout in aquaculture farms. Albino is a mutation of the Rainbow trout that lacks tyrosinase (An enzyme that breaks down tyrosine, a type of amino acid, to produce melanin). This prevents the production of melanin, a black pigment, and causes the trout to turn yellow. The yellowish coloration is thought to be due to the other pigments that remain after the melanin-black pigment is gone.

Normal Albino is genetically recessive, so if both parents are not Albino, their offspring will not be Albino. However, Albino rainbow trout is dominant, so if either male or female parent is an Albino, their offspring will be born as an Albino.

Neither the albino rainbow trout nor the blue rainbow trout is a protective color, so if it were to occur in nature, it would have little chance of surviving due to bird damage.

Albino rainbow trout has little edible value but is released for recreational fishing because of its scarcity. In fish farms, it is sometimes used as a visible indicator of growth. There may be some differences in taste, smell, and texture, but these are within the range of individual differences. And Sushi chefs do not use Albino rainbow trout for sushi.

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Revision date: April 7, 2023


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What is real Omakase at a sushi restaurant?

Omakase sushi experience
She is very interested in eating sushi toppings for the first time.

We’ll start by breaking down the meaning of this word in Japanese.

The “O” of “Omakase” is a prefix generally used as an honorific expression. The meaning of “makase” refers to a judgment of things and means to entrust a task you were meant to do to someone else, allowing them to perform the task at their own discretion. In terms of sushi, while a customer normally chooses which toppings they want to eat on their own, a customer with limited sushi topping knowledge may ask the chef to prepare his own recommendations.

There are various other ways to order sushi toppings as well. First, sushi restaurants generally have a set menu called “Okimari.” For example, let’s consider an Okimari set that contains 8 pieces of nigiri sushi. This set of 8 pieces will contain the same toppings and maintain the same price throughout the year. In contrast, a customer may choose the number of toppings they like in whatever order they prefer, such as ordering two pieces each of four types of toppings, which is called “Okonomi.” They can even order eight of the same topping. The price for “Okonomi” depends on what is ordered, the more expensive the toppings are, the higher the price will be. For “Omakase,” the chef would select 8 toppings and serve them in his recommended order. However, the customer conveys their budget to the chef in advance so the sushi course can be provided within that budget. The customer can also specify toppings they prefer to avoid. In other words, you need to let the chef know in advance about your budget according to the market, and any requests (For example, I would like to eat the Splendid alfonsino (Kinmedai) in season) that you can’t budge on. You don’t need to leave those two things up to the chef’s discretion.

Now, in actuality, there are many sushi restaurants that stray from the original definition of “Omakase.”

For instance, he/she may include Tsumami as part of the course, rather than only sushi. This would be Sushi Kappo (sitting at the counter to enjoy Japanese food and served directly by the chef). A sushi restaurant was once a place where only Nigiri sushi was served. To explain in more detail, if only Nigiri sushi is served, then even if you were to eat 20 pieces of Nigiri sushi, your time in the restaurant would only be around 30 minutes (this is true the case of the establishment of the famous Jiro). Nowadays sushi restaurants are used for entertaining business clients or going on dates, so the customer may stay for around two hours. In situations like this conversation is the priority, so the actual ordering of the sushi takes the backseat. Incidentally, the practice of drinking Japanese sake at sushi restaurants is said to have begun around 1910.

Next, we’ll let you in on a common misconception that you probably don’t want to hear.

Apparently, people believe that ordering Omakase means that you will be served rare pieces that are not disclosed on the menu. Some are even convinced that they can get more expensive toppings than they would if they ordered with the Okonomi method. However, the restaurant just sets the price for the Omakase course and just adjusts the menu items accordingly (to suit the budget) based on current stock. The benefit to the restaurant is that it only stocks the amount of seafood necessary and will waste less. Unfortunately, rare finds are reserved for customers who know what they like. Go ahead and toss any such expectations out of your mind right now. Instead, acquiring sushi knowledge will allow you to avoid being recommended toppings that are approaching expiration.

Finally, if you just get an expensive Omakase course without understanding where the toppings came from or when they are in season, then it won’t contribute to your deeper understanding of the magnificence of Nigiri sushi.

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Revision date: April 18, 2023


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Nigiri sushi should be eaten when the fish is in season!

a photo of Mackerel
Mackerel is now in season.

Each food has its own season. It goes without saying that the taste is at its best at that time of year.

When is this “season”?

Most people would answer that it is the time of year when food can be harvested in abundance. This is certainly true for fruits and vegetables. However, this is not always the case with fish. Fish season refers to “the time when the fish is at its peak of fat content,” which does not necessarily coincide with the time when the food is in abundance.

Then, what determines when fish are in season, is the relationship with the spawning season, which is the most important factor. One to two months prior to spawning, both male and female fish feed frantically. This is the time of year when the fish are fat, fatty, and delicious. This is the fish’s season.

However, when the spawning season arrives, the fish become thin. This is because all the nutrients in the body are absorbed by the testes of the males and the eggs of the females. Especially immediately after spawning, the fish have used up all their energy, and their flesh is in a very shabby state.

In other words, the timing of eating the fish is off by just a few days, and the fish tastes considerably less good than when it is in season.

We think you get the idea by now.

You are bound to order fish out of season due to your lack of knowledge. To avoid wasting your money, you should know the season of typical sushi items.

The seasons of typical fish are as follows.

Spring: Japanese halfbeak (Sayori), Ark shell (Akagai), Red seabream (Tai), Pacific herring (Nishin), Black Rockfish (Mebaru), Firefly Squid (Hotaru ika)

Summer: Japanese conger (Anago), Bonito (Katsuo), Horse mackerel (Aji), Greater amberjack (Kanpachi), Goldstriped amberjack (Hiramasa), Daggertooth pike conger (Hamo), Japanese sea bass (Suzuki), Sea urchin (Uni), Japanese whiting (Kisu), Chicken grunt (Isaki), Common scallop (Hotate)

Autumn: Pacific saury (Sanma), Mackerel (Saba), Gizzard shad (Kohada)

Winter: Bastard halibut (Hirame), Japanese amberjack (Buri), Bluefin tuna (Kuro maguro), Japanese pufferfish (Fugu), Splendid alfonsino (Kinmedai), Golden cuttlefish (Sumi ika)

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Revision date: February 27, 2023


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What is Katsuobushi?

a photo of Katsuobushi
Of the ingredients used to make dashi, katsuobushi is the most common.

Katsuobushi (鰹節) appears frequently in documents from the Muromachi period (1333-1573) and later, and was used then, as it is now, to take dashi. The name Tosa-bushi is also found in documents from the early Edo period (1603-1868), but the method of making it seems to have been to boil it down and then dry it in the sun, and it is said that the current molding method was invented around 1673~81. In the Tosa Domain, which has been famous for bonito fishing since ancient times, Harimaya Sanosuke of Usa and Yamazaki Giemon of Nakahama worked to improve and popularize Tosa-bushi, and the name Tosa-bushi spread as a specialty of the domain in Edo and Osaka.

The process of making katsuobushi begins by boiling the formed bonito meat in boiling water, removing the bones and some of the skin, placing it in baskets, and then placing it in a chamber to be heated and dried over a fire made of oak, sawtooth oak, or kashiwa (oak tree). This is called Baikan (焙乾).

At this stage the product to be shipped is called Namabushi. The first Baikan is called Ichiban-bi. After that, the cracks and missing parts of the Fushi are repaired with bonito surimi. The baikan is repeated once a day for 2 to 12 times. In case you are wondering, Katsuobushi before shaving is called Fushi.

After Baikan, it is called Arabushi (荒節) or Onibushi (鬼節). After drying in the sun for a few days, the surface is scraped with a small knife and called Hadakabushi (裸節), Akamuki (赤むき), Wakabushi (若節), Shinbushi (新節), etc. After drying in the sun again, it is placed in a wooden box called Kabi-tsuke-bako for 15 to 17 days in a cool and dark place, and the surface of the Fushi is covered with blue-green mold. This initial molding is called Ichiban-kabi (一番黴). This process is repeated, and those that have been processed for Niban-kabi are called Aokarebushi (青枯れ節).

This process is usually repeated four times, and when the Yoban-kabi (四番黴) process is completed, the product is called Hongarebushi (本枯れ節). This process is very effective in reducing the fishy smell and fat content of the Fushi and improving its flavor and color.

The best Katsuobushi is the one that is well-dried, has a tortoiseshell-like color, and a clear metallic sound when tapped. When buying katsuobushi with high-fat content or oxidized fat, the surface color may be white or yellowish-brown, so care should be taken when purchasing katsuobushi.

Kezuribushi made by shaving Hongarebushi is called Katsuobushi-kezuri (鰹節削り). On the other hand, shaved Arabushi is called Katsuo-kezuri (鰹削り). Katsuobushi-kezuri has a milder fragrance than Katsuo-kezuri and is relatively light. This is because the mold softens the smoky smell of Baikan and the fishy smell of fish.

Generally, Arabushi is used mainly in Kansai, while Hongarebushi is preferred in Kanto. The reason for this goes back to the Edo period (1603-1867). At that time, Katsuobushi was transported to Edo by sea from western Japan, including Tosa, Satsuma, and Kishu. However, because mold grew during the voyage, it was dried in the sun and eaten, which added a mild aroma. Since then, mold-dried Katsuobushi has been favored in Edo.

Kezuribushi varies in thickness. Usukezuri (薄削り) is 0.1 mm or less and is used as Hana-katsuo (花かつお) for decoration, and is not suitable for making dashi. Nakakezuri (中削り) is around 0.2 mm thick and is generally used at home because it can be used to make dashi in a short period of time. Atsukezuri (厚削り) is about 0.7 mm thick and should be boiled for about 20 minutes to make dashi. Atsukezuri is rarely used by itself but is often blended with several types of Fushi for commercial use.

Kezuribushi is all about the aroma. To prevent volatilization and oxidation of the aroma, it should be sealed in a plastic bag, with the air inside pushed out, and stored in a refrigerator or freezer. Even though it is dry food, it needs to be handled in the same way as fresh food.

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Revision date: February 21, 2023


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What is Gyosho (fish sauce)?

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Gyosho (fish sauce)

Shiokara (salted fish guts) and Gyosho (fish sauce) are widely produced throughout East Asia and are very similar foods in terms of their ingredients and production methods.

Gyosho is made by preserving raw seafood in salt. It is a fermented food in which the raw materials are broken down into amino acids, mainly by the action of enzymes contained in the raw materials, and the umami is intensified. There are solid and liquid products leached from it.

The production process is not much different from that of salted fish, but salted fish is intended for long-term preservation of protein sources, whereas gyosho is produced for use as a seasoning. It is originally obtained as a byproduct of salted fish, but nowadays, it is produced only for the purpose of obtaining Gyosho.

However, most of the Shoyu produced in Japan is made from cereal grains, and the amount of gyosho produced for local consumption is minimal.

Types of Gyosho

Shottsuru

Shottsuru has long been produced in the Akita area. Sailfin sandfish (Hatahata) is the most well-known fish used, but Sardine and Pacific sand lance are also used. First, the fish’s head, entrails, and tail fins are removed, and the fish is washed in water. Then the fish is drained, and about 10 kg of fish is mixed with about 1,800 ml of rice malt and 1,800 ml of salt, packed in a wooden barrel, covered with a lid, and weighted down. After maturing in a cool, dark place for about three years, the fish is filtered and boiled to make the product.

Ishiru

Ishiru is made in the Okunoto region. There are other names such as Ishiri, Yoshiru, and Yoshiri. The fish used are sardine, round herring, horse-mackerel, etc. The meat is often processed into dried fish, and the surplus heads and entrails are used. About 30% salt is added to this, packed in miso barrels, covered with a sheet, and aged for six months to a year. After that, it is boiled and filtered to make the product.

Ishikawa Prefecture also produces “Ishiri,” which is easily mistaken for “Ishiru,” but it is made from the entrails of the Japanese common squid.

Nam pla (น้ำปลา)

Nam pla is an essential seasoning for Thai cuisine. In Thai, nam means liquid and pla means fish. In the traditional method, small marine fish, starting with sardine, are mixed with 30~40% salt by weight and placed in a large jar for maturing.

After about a year, a long, thin bamboo basket is inserted into the jar and the liquid that has leached out is drawn out and bottled to make the product. Inland, freshwater fish such as Carp and Loach are used. There is also a theory that the origin of Nam pla is to use freshwater fish.

Anchovy sauce

Gyosho, called garum, was widely used in ancient Rome around the 1st century BC. Bluefish such as mackerel would be pickled in salt, stuffed into unglazed jars, and maturing under the sun. The garum that flowed out through a hole drilled in the bottom of the jar was then used as a seasoning. In Italy, garum production stopped around the 16th century.

Anchovy sauce, a similar product made by maturing salted round herring for six months or more, grinding it, and adding spices, is now used as a secret ingredient in spaghetti and other Italian dishes.

Nước mắm

Nước mắm is mainly made from Round herring and Amberstripe scad in Vietnamese Gyosho, and Carp, Loach and Catfish fry are also used around the Mekong Delta. The cleaned fish is placed in a container with 10~15% salt by weight, stirred every morning, and salt is gradually added until it reaches a concentration of about 30%, depending on the progress of maturing. Those aged for one year or more are more delicious. Gyosho from Đảo Phú Quốc is considered the best.

Colatura

Colatura is an Italian Gyosho. It is made from nothing but round herring and salt. The round herring is first removed from the head and entrails and placed in a barrel, alternately layered with salt. Then, a wooden lid is placed on the herring, and weights are placed on top of it for maturing.

After maturing for three to four years, a hole is drilled in the bottom of the barrel and the Colatura is slowly extracted, drop by drop, over time. The slow aging process in the barrels concentrates the flavor of the fish and produces the amber-colored Colatura.

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Revision date: February 20, 2023


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What is Yellow caviar in Japan?

a photo of Yellow caviar
Rainbow trout can also be yellow using a feed that does not contain astaxanthin.

Shinanoyuki-masu (信濃雪鱒) is a cold-water fish classified in the genus Coregonus, which is related to salmon, and was not originally from Japan.

In 1975, eggs were introduced to Nagano Prefecture from former Czechoslovakia, and after 10 years of testing and research at the Nagano Prefectural Fisheries Experiment Station, the prefecture succeeded in establishing the world’s first aquaculture technology.

In 1983, full-scale production began on a private-sector basis, and the fish was named Shinanoyuki-masu (shinano means ‘Nagano prefecture’, yuki means ‘snow’, and masu means ‘trout’), an appropriate nickname for its silvery-white appearance reminiscent of snow.

The neighboring Saku Aquaculture and Fisheries Cooperative Association also sell sturgeon roe under the name Golden caviar after separating the muscle-like roe into pieces and marinating them in salt. However, this is not a Golden caviar, but rather a Yellow caviar.

Generally, River trout, Char, Yamame, and Amago, which grow only in rivers and lakes, do not take red pigments, so their eggs themselves remain yellow. Yellow is also associated with roes but can also come from an albino fish. Rainbow trout is almost always orange, but can also be yellow using a feed that does not contain astaxanthin.

These are what we call Yellow caviar in Japan.

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Revision date: February 18, 2023


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What is Tsukudani?

a photo of Tsukudani
Assorted Tsukudani

Tsukudani (佃煮) is a type of processed food made by simmering small fish caught at the seashore or lakeshore in seasonings. Tsukudani is boiled down in a seasoning solution consisting mainly of soy sauce and sugar, so it can be kept for a long time. In addition to the sterilizing effect of heating, the osmotic pressure created by the salt in the soy sauce reduces the water content in the tissue. This reduces the proliferation of bacteria and thus preserves the fish.

The marine products used to make Tsukudani include small fish such as Spiny goby (Haze), Pacific sand lance (Konago), Half mouth sardine (Shirasu), Crucian carp (Funa), Bitterling (Tanago), and Japanese smelt (Wakasagi); diced Bonito (Katsuo) and Tuna (Maguro); shellfish such as Baby clam (Asari), Orient clam (Hamaguri), and Bloody clam (Akagai); crustaceans such as Shrimp (Ebi) and Mysid (Ami); and seaweeds such as Kombu and Nori. Shio-kombu is also a type of Tsukudani.

For Tsukudani, the freshest ingredients are chosen. If small fish are used that are not fresh, their flesh will fall apart and the seasoning will become cloudy, reducing the value of the product.

When making Tsukudani, the first step is to bring water, soy sauce, sugar, and other seasonings to a boil in an iron cauldron. The ingredients are then placed in the pot and simmered over low heat to allow the liquid to absorb into the tissues of the ingredients. After the simmering process, the Tsukudani is removed from the cauldron and cooled quickly by blowing air through a fan or similar device. The reason for this is that prolonged heat will cause the quality of the product to deteriorate.

The name Tsukudani is said to have originated with fishermen on Tsukuda Island (佃島) during the Edo period (1603-1868), a small island at the mouth of the Sumida River, which flows into Edo Bay. It was named Tsukuda Island after a group of fishermen from the village of Tsukuda in Settsu (摂津), who were invited to settle there when the Edo shogunate was established.

Since Edo’s traditional fishing industry was underdeveloped then, Tokugawa Ieyasu is said to have introduced advanced fishing techniques from the west to supply food for the urban population of Edo.

Tsukuda Island fishermen delivered fish to Edo Castle and the lords. On the other hand, small fish that had no commercial value were seasoned and processed for their use.

Their taste became so well known that they came to be called Tsukuda-ni (ni means simmer) after the name of the land. Tsukudani was a way to make effective use of small fish without discarding them and preserving them.

These Tsukudani were brought back to the country as souvenirs by the samurai on the “Sankinkotai (duty of alternate-year attendance in Edo)”. Eventually, local producers began to follow their example, and it spread throughout the country.

Tsukudani has several variations. Shigure-ni (時雨煮) is made by cooking flaked clams, clams, and other shellfish with soy sauce as well as sansho (Japanese pepper) and ginger. Shigure-hamaguri (時雨蛤) is a specialty of Kuwana, Mie Prefecture. Kanro-ni (甘露煮) is soy sauce with more syrup added and boiled down until there is no more liquid. Ame-ni (飴煮) is made by adding sake and mirin to soy sauce, simmering the ingredients in the seasoning liquid, and then adding more syrup. In the past, Ame-ni was often made with river fish such as crucian carp. In recent years, sugar and syrup have been used in Tsukudani, and the distinction between Kanro-ni and Ame-ni seems to have become ambiguous.

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Revision date: February 17, 2023


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What is Shiokara?

a photo of Shiokara
Shiokara broadly refers to seafood fermented in their own viscera, salted and seasoned.

Generally, Shiokara (salted fish guts) is a food product made by maturing salted seafood meat and offal. This maturing is a chemical process in which proteins are converted into free amino acids by the digestive action of proteolytic enzymes contained in the offal, creating a rich umami, while the high salt content prevents spoilage. As maturing progresses, the taste becomes less salty and mellower.

Today, shiokara is rarely found in any other food than seafood, but in the past, it was also made from animal meat. As evidence, shiokara made from rabbit and deer meat is mentioned in documents (倭名類聚鈔) dating from 905 to 967.

In the Edo period (1603-1867), eating animal flesh became anathema, and shiokara made from animal flesh gradually declined, leaving only shiokara made from fish and shellfish.

In the Edo period, shiokara was called nashimono (なし物) or natsushimono (なつし物) or nanshimo (なんし物) and included fish and shellfish such as Red seabream (Tai), Horse mackerel (Aji), Pacific cod (Tara), Ark shell (Akagai), Orient clam (Hamaguri), Abalone (Awabi), Prawn (Ebi), and Crab (Kani), as well as birds such as Lark and Quail.

It is said that the term shiokara, which is still used today, took root around the end of the Edo period, and literature from that time describes shiokara being sold as Katsuo, Ami, Ebi, Ika, and others.

These days, shiokara is considered more of a luxury food than a side dish, and many shiokara products cannot be stored without refrigeration because the salt content has been reduced to less than 10% due to low-salt preference. Also, some products are seen with the addition of mirin or rice malt to suppress the salty taste.

And what I must tell you is that there are various delicacies not only in Japan but also in other countries, some of which are characterized by their odd smell and strange appearance, but are also very flavorful.

One of the most typical examples is the shiokara introduced here. It can be said that it is the top 5 stinky food in Japan.

We are fairly sure that Shiokara isn’t the type of dish that will have you coming back for more. But rest assured, Japanese cuisine has so much more to offer.

Types of shiokara in Japan

Ika-no-shiokara (salted squid guts)

Generally, Japanese common squid (Surume-ika) is used, and it is the most in-demand shiokara.

The process is to mix squid liver, commonly called “goro,” with shredded squid meat in a ratio of 1:15 to 20, add 10 to 20% salt, and allow the mixture to stand for about half a month, stirring occasionally, until the meat is broken down by enzymes to produce the characteristic umami, which is then ready to eat. There are three types of shiokara: shiro (shiro means ‘white’)-zukuri, in which the skin is removed; aka (aka means ‘red’)-zukuri, in which the skin is left on; and kuro (kuro means ‘black’)-zukuri, in which squid ink is added.

Tsubu-uni (salted and preserved sea urchin)

a photo of Tsubu-uni
Tsubu-uni is a food product processed from fresh sea urchin to make it last longer.

Tsubu-uni is a specialty of Yamaguchi Prefecture and was invented around 1887, using Bafun uni, Aka uni, and Murasaki uni as ingredients.

The process begins by rinsing the gonads removed from the sea urchin. The product is then sprinkled with about 10% salt, packed in a bottle containing about 20% alcohol, shaken well, and aged for about half a month. The resulting product has a low salt content of about 8%, but can be stored at room temperature for about a year because of its alcohol content of about 9%.

Shuto (salted bonito guts)

Shuto (酒盗) is a shiokara made from bonito entrails. It is a specialty of Kochi Prefecture and is said to have been named by Yamauchi Toyosuke. Fatty bonito that has been frozen for a long time will become discolored, so bonito caught from spring to summer, when it has less fat, is the best material for shuto.

Among the removed internal organs, the pyloric appendage, stomach, and intestines are rinsed and aged with 30% salt. The one made with meat and offal is called “Tataki”, while the one made with only the stomach and intestines is called “Hantou (飯盗)”. It is also called Japanese anchovy and has a distinctive smell.

Konowata (salted sea cucumber guts)

a photo of Konowata
Konowata is salted sea cucumber intestines and is one of the three major delicacies in Japan.

Konowata is a shiokara, the digestive tract of sea cucumbers (海鼠).

When making dried or pickled sea cucumbers, the digestive tract is removed, washed, and soaked in 30% salt. The value of konowata is diminished when it is torn off and the yield is only about 1%, making konowata especially expensive among shiokara. The moment you put it in your mouth, you can smell the mellow aroma of the sea, and it is characterized by its unique sticky texture.

Mefun (salted salmon guts)

Mefun is a shiokara made from Salmon’s kidney.

The removed kidneys are washed in salt water, sprinkled with salt, hardened, then washed in thin salt water to reduce the salt content to about 12% and dried in the shade. The fish is then packed in containers and aged for about six months before being made into a product. The product has a maturing smell peculiar to salted fish.

Uruka (salted ayu guts)

Uruka is the shiokara of ayu fish entrails. There are ko-uruka made with ayu fish ovaries, shiro-uruka made with testes, kiri-uruka made with chopped meat mixed with the entrails, and shibu-uruka made with entrails other than ovaries and testes.

The process is the same for all ingredients: add about 30% salt, remove the leaching liquid, repeat the process of adding more salt, and let the product mature for about one year.

Sukugarasu (salted orange-spotted spinefoot)

In Okinawa, shiokara is called karasu. Kara means spicy and su means salt. Suku refers to the juvenile orange-spotted spinefoot, which are caught around the new moon of the sixth lunar month, when they gather in large schools on coral reefs.

The fish is matured in a dark place with 30% salt added to the fish. The fish is ready to eat within 2 to 3 days after being marinated, but the longer maturing fish is considered tastier. In Okinawa, shiokara of bonito entrails is called Watagarasu, shiokara of squid is called Ichagarasu, and shiokara of sea urchin is called Gashagarasu.

Ganzuke (salted fiddler crab)

A specialty of the Ariake Sea coast of Saga Prefecture, it is mainly made from fiddler crab and is said to have been invented around the 18th century by the lord of the Nabeshima feudal lord at that time.

The process involves removing the abdomen, mashing the fiddler crab with a mortar, adding about 30% salt, chili peppers, and other seasonings, and maturing the mixture for about three months.

Types of shiokara in Southeast Asia

Jeotgal (젓갈)

On the Korean peninsula, shiokara is called jeotgal or jeot, and there are over 40 varieties. Among them, 새우젓 made with small shrimp and 멸치젓 made with half mouth sardine are consumed in large quantities because they are essential for kimchi (김치) production.

The Fujian Han Chinese in Taiwan refer to the shiokara as 鮭 or 鹸鮭. Ingredients include shrimp, small fish, and crab.

Mắm

In Vietnam, shiokara, fish sauce, and narezushi are collectively called mắm, all of which are produced with the main purpose of flavoring dishes.

For example, mắm tôm, a shiokara paste of small shrimp, is made by adding about 20-30% salt to freshly caught shrimp, grinding them in a blender, and then spreading them on winnows and drying them in the sun for 2-3 days before maturing them in a container. It will be ready to eat in about a month, but those that have been around for more than a year are considered tasty.

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Revision date: February 13, 2023


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What are the important points when using ice to kill small fish?

a photo of Korijime
the general practice for small fish is to kill them all together with cold seawater using Korijime.

When it comes to large volumes of small fish like Aji and Iwashi, it’s impossible to use Ikejime for each individual fish. Therefore, the general practice for small fish is to kill them all together with cold seawater using Korijime (“kori” is the Japanese word for “ice”).

Here we will explain the important points of Korijime (氷締め).

The ice is important to maintain freshness. However, this does not mean that more ice is better. The amount of ice used must be adjusted depending on the state of the fish. When Ikejime is performed on live fish and then the fish is put directly on ice, it is killed too early. Also, if ice is only applied to certain parts, only that part will cool, changing the color of the meat. So, rather than directly cooling fish that haven’t yet reached rigor mortis after death, the environment around the fish is cooled.

On the other hand, the fish that have been killed lose their freshness quickly so plenty of ice is applied then in order to prevent changes in the temperature of the fish’s body. Although plenty of ice is necessary, ice is heavy so using so much that it would leave indentations on the fish’s body would be inexcusable. You can tell whether the fisherman is used to handling the fish depending on how much ice is used.

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Revision date: February 4, 2023


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What is Sashimi?

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A plate of assorted sashimi

Sashimi (刺身) is made by removing the inedible head, bones, skin, fins, and tail from raw fish, etc., and cutting them into small, easy-to-eat pieces.

It is considered the ultimate washoku dish, but why is such a simple and uncooked dish regarded so highly? In Japan, ingredients that are fresh enough to eat raw are considered more valuable, and sashimi preparation in particular requires substantial labor and technique.

Its preparation begins when the fish is first taken out of the sea. The fishermen perform Ikejime, a technique that shuts off the fish’s neurotransmission in order to preserve freshness and texture while the fish matures.

Each fish has its peak, which is referred to as shun (season), and chefs train for years to develop their ability to determine whether a fish is fresh and its peak. The carefully selected fish is cut into smaller pieces in one stroke with a sashimi boucho (knife), which creates a smooth surface. If the meat is cut with an unsharp knife, it will be crushed and the result will be watery and tasteless.

The chefs pursue pleasing texture, ease of eating, and delicious flavors by varying the thickness of cuts and cutting techniques, depending on the type of seafood they work with.

It is popularly served with soy sauce and condiments such as wasabi, and such garnishes as shiso and shredded daikon radish.

As an aside, sushi restaurants offer a variety of sashimi cuisine. You can order them as assortments, not to mention as single dishes of tuna, sea bream, squid, horse mackerel, or shellfish among others. If the shop has seasonal fish in stock, it might be a good idea to leave your order to the chef.

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We hope this information will be helpful.

Revision date: February 3, 2023


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