Hokkaido’s traditional food “izushi”.
A local dish fostered by the northern climate.
Until a while ago, isushi was often made at home, but nowadays it is rarely made at home because it is very time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Yamashita Suisan is committed to preserving this traditional Hokkaido food, and continues to make improvements to the traditional handmade method of making izushi.
When Kunio Yamashita, the fourth generation of the company, joined Yamashita Suisan about 40 years ago, the company was producing only enough izushi to sell locally.
The fourth generation established a distribution system for short-lived izushi, and also studied production methods in pursuit of a better taste.
Izushi is made in cedar barrels where the rice, koji, fish, and vegetables are matured through repeated fermentation by lactic acid bacteria.
Each ingredient complements each other with umami of the fish, the sweetness of the rice, and the moderate acidity of the vinegar. All of the ingredients are carefully selected from all over Japan, and you can feel the quality of the ingredients.
The first step in making izushi is preparation.
After cooking the rice, allow it to cool
moderately.
Cut the fish into bite-sized fillets.
Finely chop carrots, ginger, and falcon
claws.
Spread a thin layer of rice
and koji in a cedar barrel.
Sprinkle vegetables
on top of rice.
Arrange the fillets neatly
from the outside of the
cedar barrel.
Sprinkle with vinegar.
This process (④~⑧) is repeated over and over until the cedar barrels are full. Now the preparation is complete.
This process gives the finished product a beautiful mille-feuille shape.
It takes that much effort.
These 18 days are a very important period for izushi.Izushi spends these 18 days in a low-temperature refrigerator. The sushi is then weighed down to remove excess water and allowed to mature. Sometimes a maximum weight of close to 100kg is placed on the wine while judging the state of maturity.
Maturity is judged by the ripeness of the “bubbles” and “sauce” that rise to the surface of the izushi. We observe the daily changes of the izushi in the cedar barrels to determine when it is ready.
Since even a slight change in temperature can completely change the progress of fermentation of izushi, the temperature of the refrigerator is exquisitely adjusted according to the type of fish, outside temperature, and other factors to stabilize the finished product. Every day, the artisan enters a refrigerator lined with cedar barrels of izushi and goes through each cedar barrel one by one.
Lactic acid fermented foods include yogurt, kimchi, natto, etc.Izushi is also a lactic acid fermented food made from koji mold and vegetable-derived lactic acid bacteria. As the koji and vegetable-derived lactic acid bacteria ferment, bubbles appear in the cedar barrels in which the izushi is prepared, and we feel that the bacteria are alive.
However, since lactic acid bacteria are very delicate, they are very difficult to manage. In the early days of pickling izushi, the fermentation process can be slow or sudden, “like raising a baby,” says a veteran artisan. It is somewhat satisfying to see veteran artisan talking to cedar barrels and having “conversations” with them.
Yamashita Suisan’s izushi is slowly aged in a low-temperature refrigerator.
Because it is not marinated in vinegar or heated at all, the original, gentle taste of the ingredients fills the mouth. We have received many comments such as, “I used to hate izushi, but now I can eat Yamashita Suisan’s. We hope you will try it.
Izushi is a winter-only product.
