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The Japanese word for ‘pickle’ translates as “to alter without the use of heat." We explore a variety of the most traditional yet lesser known of the Japanese pickling world.
Miso-Zuke - Pickles in Miso
Taukuan Pickles
Kasuzuke
The history of Nuka—or rice bran—pickling dates back to the Edo period of Japan (1603-1868) during which the milling of rice became commonplace.
The bran, which is the part of the rice removed during milling, is mixed with water, salt, and Kombu and tended for several weeks to establish a pickling “bed.” Every day the bed must be stirred and a vegetable scrap is added and then removed the next day. Over several weeks, this bed becomes so microbially rich that a well tended Nuka Pot will pickle vegetables overnight. With care, a Nuka Pot can last a family for generations, with the character of the pickled vegetables maturing with the age of the bed.
The bran is the most nutrient dense part of the rice, particularly in B vitamins. Vegetables pickled in Nuka will be rich both in these nutrients and in Lactobacilli bacteria. Nuka pickles, like a lot of other Japanese Tsukemono, challenge our concept of pickle. They have some tang, however they are much more complex, absorbing so much of the character of their pickling medium. A Nuka Pot could be characterized as a pickling “oven.” It is the creation of a vegetable habitat teeming with activity, ready to transform any introduction in a remarkably short time period.
Takuan pickles are sun-dried daikon pickled in a bed of rice bran and salt. We are just starting to explore pickles as cultured foods and are intrigued by Japanese pickling traditions in part because of how unique mediums such as rice bran, miso, and sake lees are employed. This tradition utilizes what is considered “waste” materials from rice milling, tofu, and other processes to impart both impressive nutritional value and concentrated flavor and taste to these pickles.
This pickle is named after Takuan Soho (1573-1645), a Zen priest who was exiled from the priesthood for rejecting the formal approach of Zen discipline in favor of the reflection of true spiritual insight. He is author of the book The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master. Rice milling gained increasing popularity in Japan, during his time, hence the abundance of the nutritious bran. Takuan Soho encouraged the proliferation of rice bran pickled daikon throughout the country, and still enjoyed in Japanese cuisine today. The bran is rinsed from the rice, and the takuan are sliced very thinly, most commonly eaten very simply with rice. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find traditionally produced takuan, as modern varieties utilize artificial color, sweeteners, and stabilizers. Therefore, the best way is to make it yourself.
Takuan is easy to make. Daikon radishes are used and should be selected for uniform size and is delivered with the greens still attached (the greens will tell you how fresh the radishes are). Begin the process by hanging the daikon to dry in the windows. Dry the daikon slowly for about 8 days, until they become soft and pliable. This drying will provide the pickle with a wonderful chewy texture and keeps moisture from flooding the rice bran. Once you are ready to pickle, combine a mixture of rice bran, turmeric, chili flake, Kombu salt and sugar. Layer the sliced radishes and cover each layer with the brand/spice mixture. Use a Japanese pickle press or sauerkraut crock to ferment the mixture.
The daikon/rice bran mixture should ferment for anywhere between 4 and 10 months. Takuan pickles are a longer process and one of the more challenging pickles to make. This is due primarily to the duration of fermentation and with the drying process. If there is too much moisture in the daikon it provides conditions optimal for lactic acid creating bacteria. What we want to dominate, however, is the smokey yeasty quality that the fermented rice bran brings to the palate.
Tapping into waste streams and re-purposing the left overs for other uses.
After a tank of sake has run the course of its fermentation, anywhere from 18 to 32 days, what remains is a white mixture of sake, rice solids, and yeast. This mixture, known as the moromi, is pressed to separate the sake from the suspended solids. There are several methods of pressing the sake out, leaving compressed rice solids, or lees, behind. This is Kasu.
Kasuzuke or vegetables pickled in kasu, are said to have originated in the Kansai region of Japan as early as twelve hundred years ago. The first vegetables known to be fermented in kasu were white melon and were named shiru-kasu-zuke or Nara-zuke. Later, the technique would used with cucumbers, eggplants, and uri or bitter melon. It was produced primarily by Buddhist monks and used by Samurai for sustenance in wartime and winter. During the Edo period of the 17th century, sake producers promoted the use of kasu widely. Not long after, kasuzuke would become a mainstay in the ever expanding repertoire of Japanese tsukemono.
Typically kasuzuke is fermented for 12 months. With this in mind we have found that a ratio of 10:3:1 kasu:sugar:salt, works well for us. Those ratios will be adjusted down for shorter term ferments of vegetables that are more tender. One of our favorite kasu pickles is burdock.
Burdock. Arctium lappa. Gobo in Japan. It is the long tap root of a thistle. Dark and woody, it is deep in earthy overtones and slightly sweet. We wash the burdock well and press it at 6% salt for two days. The burdock is spiraled into a vessel and layered between the kasu-sugar-salt mixture. In the initial weeks of fermentation there will be a fair amount of carbon dioxide released and pockets will appear. To combat this, and insure optimal kasu to burdock contact, we weigh the ferment down.
Burdock should ferment for 12-18 months. One of our longer ferments, it needs that duration for the dense, sturdy root to ferment clean through. It is a testament to the hardy strength of burdock that after a full fermentation it retains most of its flavor and texture. Though the sake and koji permeate, it is still astonishingly earthy and woody.
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Organic Cultures
General Delivery
Buckley, MI 49620
United States
ph: 1+ 231.631.1012