NAME: MUBARAKA UJJAIN

JUWID: JUW14896
SECTION: B
ASSIGNMENT: 2
 NAREZUSHI
Fishery products are challenging to produce consistently due to a variety of factors,
unlike farm and stock farm products. Initially, there is a wide range in the amount of
fish caught every season; furthermore, fish quickly deteriorate and spoil through
autolysis post-death. In the past, the key issues surrounding fishery products were
focused on preserving and maintaining the quality of fish. Processed marine products
like dried fish, salt-preserved fish, fish sausage, smoked fish, and canned fish were
created in order to avoid decay. Canned fish and fish sausages are heat treated to
eliminate microorganisms before being sealed in containers to prevent
contamination from the outside environment. Alternatively, the growth of
microorganisms is hindered by high salt levels, low moisture, and low pH in the
process of salt preservation, drying, and soaking in vinegar. Fish sauce products such
as nam pla, nook mam, and patis are produced by fermenting salted fish not only in
Japan but also in several Southeast Asian nations. Asian fish sauces are currently
being brought into and employed in the United States and Western nations. Europe
and Africa also produce traditional fermented fish products. For instance,
surströmming, sold in Sweden, is produced from herrings and produces a powerful
odor following natural fermentation in unsterilized cans. Feseekh, a dish in Africa,
is produced through the salting and fermentation of mullet or other types of fish.
Shinoda (1969) reported various researches on traditional foods of Southeast and
East Asian cultures starting from the 1950s. These reports illustrated how narezushi,
a dish made of salted and fermented fish mixed with cooked rice, was being spread
and distributed. Ishige and Ruddle, in their 1990 report "Research on fish sauce and
narezushi," suggested that the prevalence of narezushi and fish sauce is linked to the
cultivation of paddy rice in Monsoon Asia.
NAREZUSHI
Japanese narezushi culture
In Southeast and East (Monsoon) Asia, people make traditional fermented foods
using fish, salt, cooked rice (known as narezushi in Japan), and paddy rice. The
traditional narezushi is preserved with just salt, fish, and rice. At present, the
traditional narezushi is crafted in the Kinki area of Japan, specifically near Biwa
Lake. Crucian carp Funazushi is the most well-known type of narezushi. In addition,
sweetfish, dace, three-lips, freshwater minnow, trout, loach, and salmon are used to
make different types of narezushi. In contrast, in the northeastern parts of Japan,
izushi-style narezushi is made by fermenting with koji, specifically Aspergillus
oryzae malted rice. Both traditional narezushi and izushi-making food cultures
coexist in the Hokuriku region. Izushi is acknowledged to have its roots in the
Hokuriku region, even though it is well-known as a traditional dish in Aomori and
Hokkaido, Japan. It has also been linked to shihhe (or sikhye), produced in Korea.
While malt is commonly used to aid fermentation in shihhe production, it can also
be considered a type of izushi product.
Narezushi made in Noto
The process of preparing narezushi in Noto is as follows: the gills, guts and eyes of
the fresh fish are removed; the fish is salted; the fish is soaked in diluted vinegar; the
prepared fish and cooked rice are put in a barrel; and the barrel is allowed to ripen
at an ambient temperature. The following criteria may greatly vary according to the
manufacturer: salinity for salting (18–33%), duration of soaking in vinegar (ranging
from a few seconds to 5 hours), quantity of cooked rice (ranging from half to the
same amount as the fish used in the recipe) and duration of ripening (ranging from
6 weeks to 1 or more years).
The original narezushi (known as hinezushi in Noto) is thought to have not been
marinated in vinegar, instead requiring a minimum of 1 year to mature. Nevertheless,
narezushi is typically consumed between 2 to 4 months after the beginning of the
ripening process. The steps are the following. Rice is evenly distributed on the
bottom of a barrel. Diluted vinegar and alcohol are utilized for hand sanitizing. The
fish are placed in the barrel to completely cover the rice layer, and then the layer is
sealed with a light sprinkle of red pepper and Japanese pepper leaves. Following the
filling, which creates multiple layers of rice and fish, rice and Japanese pepper leaves
are evenly distributed on top. Next, rocks weighing around 1.5–4 times more than
the materials are put on top of the lid and the whole arrangement is kept in a cold
location to ripen. The majority of the samples (1.5–6 months of ripening) had 8 log
colony forming units (cfu) per gram LAB, showing that aji no susu is a common
lactic acid–fermented food. After 1 year of fermentation, the level of LAB drops to
around 6 log cfu/g in the final products. Some barrels have molds growing on their
lids. These mushrooms could have contributed to the creation of the distinct flavor
of aji no susu. Lactobacillus plantarum, known for its strong fermentation capacity,
is the main bacterium found in narezushi, while strains of Lactobacillus rennin are
also present. Lb. rennin has been extracted from foods containing a relatively high
level of salt, like cheese.
The analysis of aromatic compounds in narezushi made from horse mackerel was
done using a Headspace GC/MS system. It was found that the fish part had higher
content and more aroma constituents than the rice part. Significantly high levels of
acetic acid (4100–6500ng equivalent to BHT/g) and 1‐penten‐3‐ol (980–2900ng
equivalent to BHT/g: aroma of dried small sardines) were detected. Based on the
Odour Unit value, a conversion from the standard human threshold indicated that
aldehydes like hexanal (having a raw scent), methylbutanal (reminiscent of
almonds), pentanal (with a strong smell), and 1‐octen‐3‐ol are the main odorous
ingredients in narezushi. The deterioration of meat, fish, and milk during storage and
processing is attributed to the presence of aldehydes and alcohols. Narezushi that is
fermented for a year had a stronger smell, with 2-nonenal and butyric acid as
possibly the key aromatic elements. In recent times, 2‐nonenal has been linked to
the unique body smells of elderly men, characterized by scents of orris, oil, and
rawness.
In general, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, and amines are considered
distinctive flavor components of funazushi and other types of narezushi.
Nonetheless, lipid metabolites and alcohols remain the primary odor compounds, as
mentioned earlier. Even though oxidation is the primary cause of these scents,
alcohols such as 1‐octen‐3‐ol and 1‐penten‐3‐ol, known for their mushroom and
mold odors, are considered byproducts of fungi and bacteria.

REFERENCE:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118933794.ch17