Sushi can be anything from perfect to perfect, and if you really get down to it, it’s a deep cuisine that can be explored endlessly. Aside from its palatability, we looked into its nutritional benefits and challenges, including its history.
It is booming as a healthy food overseas! ?
The number one Japanese food searched for by people overseas is sushi. Sushi seems to be considered healthy and well-balanced. There are many people both in Japan and overseas who have an image of “healthy”, and Mizkan’s research shows that more than 90% of people overseas say that food is healthy.
Is sushi good for your health?
Sushi has a nearly perfect ratio of macronutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrates), and is also rich in micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, making it an almost completely nutritious food.
Macronutrients are the main nutrients necessary for the human body to function, such as proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
These provide energy, or calories, and are needed to support basic bodily functions.
I’m surprised that the balance is close to perfect.
Lifestyle disease prevention
Blue-backed fish such as horse mackerel, mackerel, herring, sardines, and yellowtail are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The most famous are DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), but these cannot be synthesized in the body.
It is an essential fatty acid that must be obtained from food.
The health benefits of DHA and EPA are widely known, and in summary, they are said to have the following benefits.
- blood becomes smooth
- Maintaining memory and concentration
- Maintaining eye health
- Prevention and improvement of allergies
- Decrease in triglycerides
DHA
DHA is one of the few components that can directly enter the brain and function as a nutrient.
A lipid component of the brain and retina of the eyes, it regenerates cranial nerves and helps maintain information transmission.
By the way, mackerel has the highest DHA content.
EPA
EPA is hardly present in the brain and is said to have the effect of making blood thinner and lowering neutral fat levels.
All of these are effective for reducing blood cholesterol and triglycerides, preventing arteriosclerosis, and treating heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, etc.
fatigue recovery
Vinegar is said to be effective in relieving fatigue. It is especially effective when taken with sugar.
Vinegar increases the replenishment efficiency of sugar, which replenishes glycogen, the body’s energy source. Vinegar rice becomes delicious in terms of taste due to the combination of sugar and vinegar, but it can also be said that it is an excellent compatibility nutritionally.
Beautiful skin effect, good for diet
There seems to be a diet method called macro management diet. This is a diet method that manages the macronutrients mentioned earlier, and is said to have some theoretical effects. I’ll leave the details to the experts, but sushi with an excellent balance of macronutrients can be effective for skin beautification and dieting, depending on the ingredients.
Beautiful skin effect
Seafood is often high in protein and low in calories. In that sense, white fish, octopus, and squid are all of good quality.
In addition, flounder and flatfish engawa are rich in collagen.
diet
Octopus is a recommended food for dieting. Although it is high in protein and low in calories, it is chewable and will leave you feeling full.
It is also rich in vitamin E, so it is effective in anti-aging.
Side note: Perfect for casual mountain climbing food! ?
For mountain climbing, sushi is better than a bento because it’s less bulky, makes you feel fuller, has a fatigue-relieving effect, and doesn’t make your stomach feel heavy. That’s what I think.
The challenge is not to spoil. We need to come up with ways to make it safe to eat even in the high temperatures of summer. You can avoid this by making the vinegar stronger, but if the vinegar is too strong, it won’t taste good. Also, even if you have leftover food at the top of the mountain, you want it to last long enough to take it home with you. (*Actually, we are planning to sell mackerel sushi on a mobile basis near Mt. Takao, which has the most mountain climbers in the world.)
history of sushi
Sushi was born in Japan over 1,200 years ago. It seems to have already existed during the Nara period, when the capital was located in Heijo-kyo, located in present-day Nara City, from 710 to 794. It all started with “narezushi,” which is made by marinating river fish in salt and rice.
Its origins can be traced back to the mountains of Southeast Asia, where it was developed as a way to preserve hard-to-find fish for long periods of time, and is said to have been introduced from China along with the culture of rice cultivation.
Sushi in the Heian period
Sushi appears in “Konjaku Monogatari Shu”.
The woman selling sushi got drunk and vomited into the sushi tub she was selling, so she hurriedly stirred it up to cover it up.
Fujiwara Tomonari was suffering from obesity, and when he asked his doctor how to lose weight, he was told, “In the summer, eat rice pickled in water, and in winter, eat boiled rice.” So he ate boiled rice with ayu sushi as a side dish, but he ended up eating so much that he couldn’t lose weight.
At the time, it must have been so smelly that you wouldn’t even notice it mixed with vomit. It seems to have been something like the lactic acid-fermented “narezushi” known for carp sushi.
What is Narezushi?
Narezushi is made by fermenting fish with salt and rice using lactic acid.
It is said to be fermented for several months or even years.
Lactic acid fermentation makes it sour, and the drop in pH reduces the growth of bacteria while decomposing proteins, which increases the amount of amino acids that give umami.
Later, during the Edo period, vinegar became available, and sushi using vinegared rice became mainstream.
Edomae sushi
Edomae sushi became a local dish of Edo.
A wide variety of fresh seafood was landed in Tokyo Bay.
Nigiri sushi is made by putting them on vinegared rice.
According to Kitaoji Rosanjin’s writings, sushi was mainly eaten standing up, and there was no custom of sitting down to eat it.
Grab a quick bite, eat quickly, and head home quickly.
It was Japanese fast food typical of impatient Edo people.
Why did sushi culture spread to Kansai?
The introduction of sushi culture to Kansai began with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.
Craftsmen who suffered from the disaster moved to other parts of the country, and a sushi culture suited to each region developed.
Mehari sushi
In the southern Kansai region, the Kumano region of Wakayama, and the Yoshino area of Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture, “Mehari sushi” wrapped in lightly pickled mustard leaves is famous. Although it is called sushi, it was originally something like a rice ball and was used as a lunch box for people working in the fields or mountains.
The reason why it’s called “Mehari Sushi” is because it’s “amazingly delicious.”
persimmon leaf sushi
Persimmon leaf sushi is a famous local dish from Nara, Wakayama, and Ishikawa prefectures.
Fishermen from the Kishu domain of Wakayama came to Yamato (Nara) to sell salted mackerel caught in nearby waters, but by that time it was too salty. Therefore, in order to reduce the salty taste, we devised a method of cutting the persimmon into thin strips and eating them with rice, which is how Kakinoha sushi began.
Wrapping it in persimmon leaves, which have sterilizing properties, makes it suitable for preservation. Additionally, the aroma of persimmon leaves transfers to the sushi, improving its flavor.
Matsumae sushi
From the Edo period to the Meiji period, the Matsumae ships that transported seafood from Hokkaido to Kyoto and Osaka were loaded with kelp and herring presented to the imperial court.
Matsumae sushi is mackerel stick sushi wrapped in kelp from Hokkaido transported by Kitamaebune.
Battera
Do you know what language Battera is? It means “boat” (bateira) in Portuguese. Nowadays, it is made by layering mackerel pressed sushi with white kelp, but originally it was a fish called konoshiro. When opened, the tail is thin, and the rice is pointed on one side, resembling a boat, hence the name.
Sasamaki sushi
Toyama prefecture’s trout sushi is famous for its sushi wrapped in pressed bamboo leaves.
Since sushi is made with a focus on preservation, both the seeds and vinegared rice are made with a lot of vinegar.
