Sushi

Photo: Alisa

About

Sushi is a Japanese dish made of vinegared rice topped with seafood or rolled around dried pressed seaweeds.

Physical Description

Round, bite-sized rice rolls filled with fish or vegetables

Colors: white, orange

Tasting Notes

Flavors: sour, salty, sweet

Mouthfeel: Tart, Juicy

Food complements: Tempura, Miso soup

Wine complements: Sake, White wine, Beer

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december

Social/Political

History: People in Japan began making sushi to preserve fish by fermentation. They used rice to pack with the fish while fermenting, then they threw away the fermented rice when they needed to eat the fish.

This all changed in the 17th Century when Matsumoto Yoshiichi of Edo (now Tokyo) starting seasoning the rice with rice wine vinegar.This allowed the dish to be eaten immediately, instead of waiting the months it might normally take to prepare the ‘sushi.