Tsukemono

A dish of tsukemono

Tsukemono (漬物^?, literally "pickled things") are Japanese pickles.^[1] They are served with rice as okazu (side dish), with drinks as an otsumami (snack), as an accompaniment to or garnish for meals, and as a course in the kaiseki portion of a Japanese tea ceremony.

The most common kinds of tsukemono are pickled in salt or brine. This means that according to EU and USA trade code definitions for duty tax purposes Japanese 'pickles' are in fact 'preserved vegetables' and not 'pickles' as they are not primarily preserved in acetic acid or distilled vinegar. Soy sauce, miso, vinegar, rice bran (nuka), and sake lees (sake kasu) are also useful for pickling.

Takuan (daikon), umeboshi (ume plum), turnip, cucumber, and Chinese cabbage are among the favorites to be eaten with rice as an accompaniment to a meal. Beni shoga (red ginger) is used as a garnish on okonomiyaki, takoyaki and yakisoba. Gari (ginger) is used between dishes of sushi to cleanse the palate. Rakkyōzuke (a type of onion) is often served with Japanese curry.

Traditionally, the Japanese prefer tsukemono they prepared themselves. Pickling was one of the fundamental ways to preserve food. Nowadays, tsukemono can be readily bought in a supermarket, but despite this many Japanese still make their own. Typically, all that is needed to make pickles is a container, salt, and something to apply pressure on top of the pickles.

A tsukemonoki (漬物器, つけものき^?), literally vessel for pickled things, is a Japanese pickle press. The pressure is generated by heavy stones called tsukemonoishi (漬物石, つけものいし^?) with a weight of one to two kilograms, sometimes more. This type of pickle press is still in use, and can be made from a variety of materials, such as plastic, wood, glass or ceramic. Before tsukemonoishi came into use, the pressure was applied by driving a wedge between a handle of the container and its lid.

The weights are either stone or metal, with a handle on top and often covered with a layer of food-neutral plastic. Another modern type of pickle press is usually made from plastic, and the necessary pressure is generated by turning a screw and clamping down onto the pickles.

List of tsukemono

• Asazuke: Japanese pickling method characterized by its short preparation time.
• Beni shōga: Ginger cut into thin strips, colored red, and pickled in umezu (umeboshi brine).
• Bettarazuke: a kind of pickled daikon popular in Tokyo.
• Fukujinzuke: Daikon, eggplant, lotus root and cucumber are finely chopped, then pickled in a base that is flavored with soy sauce.
• Gari: Thinly sliced young ginger that has been marinated in a solution of sugar and vinegar.
• Kasuzuke: Pickling fish or vegetables in the lees (residual yeast and other precipitates) of sake
• Karashizuke
• Matsumaezuke
• Narazuke
• Nozawana
• Nukazuke
• Rakkyōzuke
• Senmaizuke
• Shibazuke
• Takanazuke
• Takuan
• Wasabizuke
• Umeboshi

See also

• List of Japanese cooking utensils

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tsukemono

• Japanese Food / Tsukemono (pickles)
• Shizuoka Tsukemono Federation

References