At our 2014 Science of Sushi event, Dr. Ole Mouritsen and Chef Morihiro Onodera illuminated the science underlying some of our favorite components of sushi. In case you still haven’t had your fill, here are 10 scientific facts related to sushi: Read more
The Science of Sushi
Featuring Dr. Ole Mouritsen and Morihiro Onodera
April 23, 2014
To kick off our 2014 public lecture series, Dr. Ole Mouritsen joined Chef Morihiro Onodera to satisfy our craving for sushi-related science. The duo explained everything from sushi’s early history to the starchy science of sushi rice. Watch the entire lecture or check out some of the shorter highlights below.
Ole Mouritsen on the history of sushi
“The history of sushi is really the history of preservation of food. . . . Throughout Asia, in particular in China and later in Japan, people discovered that you can ferment fish – that is, you can preserve fish – by taking fresh fish and putting it in layers of cooked rice. . . . After some time the fish changes texture, it changes taste, it changes odor, but it’s still edible and it’s nutritious. And maybe after half a year you could then pull out the fish and eat the fish. That is the original sushi.”
Ole Mouritsen on the science of rice
“If you look inside the rice, you have little [starch] granules that are only three to eight microns, or three t0 eight thousandths of a millimeter, big. . . . When you cook the rice, you add some water and the water is absorbed by the rice and [the granules] swell. And the real secret behind the sushi rice is that when they swell, these little grains are not supposed to break.”
Morihiro Onodera on examining the quality of sushi rice
“First what I do is I soak uncooked rice in water. . . . Sometime after 20 minutes it will start to break. . . . I take a sample to check to see if there are any cracks. . . . With good rice, which has less cracks or breaks, you’re able to feel the texture of each of the grains in your mouth, whereas with the lower quality rice you’re just going to get the stickiness [from the starch].”
Onodera, translator, and Mouritsen at Science of Sushi. Photo Credit: Matthew Kang/Eater
The audience present at The Science of Sushi asked our guest lecturers some great questions, and quite a few of them! Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to answer them all, but Ole G. Mouritsen has been kind enough to answer some of the lingering questions that went unanswered. Below his responses, we have included some additional information to help quench your thirst for knowledge (and sake).
Q: Are parasites within fish common? Are they a passable health problem?
A: Parasites can be common in some species, e.g., cod, mackerel, herring, and wild salmon. If in doubt, always freeze or marinate fish before eating raw.
The FDA provides guidance under their Parasite Destruction Guarantee on the preparation of raw fish. Fish intended to be consumed raw must be “frozen and stored at a temperature of -20°C (-4°F) or below for a minimum of 168 hours (7 days)”. [1]
Photo Credit: Antony Theobald/Flickr
Q: What exactly is ‘sashimi/sushi grade’ fish?
A: Fish that can be eaten raw. If in doubt, ask a fishmonger you trust.
In the United States, the term ‘sushi grade’ is unregulated. However, many suppliers have set up their own parameters for their products, often reserving the term for their most fresh fish.[2]
Photo Credit: Marla Showfer/Flickr
Q: What are your thoughts on using brown rice in sushi?
A: I don’t myself like brown rice in sushi. If you worry about the calories in white rice, don’t eat sushi.
During the milling process, the germ and bran layer of brown rice are left intact, and are not removed as they are in white rice. The only layer removed is the outermost layer, the hull. Some health-conscious people often opt for brown rice because several vitamins and dietary minerals are lost in this removal process and the subsequent polishing.
Photo Credit: Thokrates/flickr
Q: What’s your thought on cooking rice with ‘bamboo charcoal’?
A: I don’t understand this question. In principle the source of heating does not matter (except if the cooking pot is open and takes taste from the burning material).
Q: Sake: does it add, hide, or subtract?
A: It is a matter of taste. An old Japanese proverb says that one should not drink sake with rice (too much of a good thing). So drink sake before the sushi meal, or after.
Sake, the alcoholic rice beverage officially known as “Seishu” is defined as one of the following:
After any of these processes, the liquid is then strained through a mesh to produce a clear beverage. [3]
Photo Credit: atmtx/flickr
References
About the author: Elsbeth Sites is pursuing her B.S. in Biology at UCLA. Her addiction to the Food Network has developed into a love of learning about the science behind food.
Chef Morihiro Onodera trained as a sushi chef in Tokyo, and at seminal Los Angeles restaurants including Katsu, R-23, Matsuhisa, and Takao as well as Hatsuhana in NY. By the time he opened his first restaurant, Mori Sushi in Los Angeles, he was preparing many of the same handmade ingredients, harvesting his own locally grown rice and creating handmade pottery to be used in the restaurant. After selling Mori Sushi in 2011, Mori began creating handmade pottery for several Michelin Guide restaurants in Los Angeles and established a partnership with rice farmer, Ichiro Tamaki. Tamaki farms in Uruguay will harvest its first crop in May of 2013 and will be available for distribution world-wide.
See Morihiro Onodera April 23, 2014 at “The Science of Sushi”