One of the pleasures of sitting at a sushi counter is watching the sushi master work his craft.
He holds the topping between the index finger and thumb of his left hand while simultaneously grabbing the shari (vinegared rice) with his left hand. He gently squeezes the shari and then moves the topping from his left hand to the top of that shari in a fluid motion. This entire process of shaping the shari to the finished piece of sushi takes less than six seconds. Every movement is precise and purposeful.
However, no matter how many pieces the chef makes one after another, you’ll never see a grain of rice stick to his hands. If you or I were to make even one piece of sushi, our hands would be covered in rice. So why doesn’t it happen to them? Their hands don’t look oiled. Perhaps sushi chefs have especially smooth or slick hands compared to us average Joes?
Of course not. This is actually thanks to the vinegar.
The chefs keep a bowl of vinegar close by, which they constantly use to wet their hands. If the sushi chef’s hands are dry, the rice grains tend to stick to them, so the rice needs to be moistened just enough.
This is called “Tezu” or vinegared water, which both disinfects the hands and cools their palms. When the vinegar evaporates, it takes the heat from the hands with it.
Normally hands reach temperatures of 33-34 degrees Celsius (91-93 degrees Fahrenheit), but sushi chefs cool their hands to approximately 30 degrees Celsius (86 F). This transfers the heat from the hands to the shari, keeping it from getting sticky. In other words, not a single grain of rice sticks to their hands.
Also, the stickiness of rice is mainly caused by starch (especially amylopectin) gelatinizing with water and heat, but vinegar contains acetic acid, which acidifies the pH, so under these conditions, the structure of the starch changes slightly, inhibiting the formation of stickiness (the sticky component).
Additionally, vinegared rice becomes sticky if there is too much moisture, and conversely, if there is too little moisture, it becomes dry and difficult to shape. Therefore, the moisture content and temperature are carefully adjusted to achieve the perfect balance.
In short, it’s not magic or special skin — it’s the calculated use of vinegar, moisture, and temperature control that keeps sushi chefs’ hands rice-free.
We hope this information will be helpful.
Revision date: June 16, 2025
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