are Japanese preserved vegetables (usually pickled in salt,

brine Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...

, or a bed of rice bran). They are served with rice as an '' okazu'' (side dish), with

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...

s as an ''

otsumami In Japan, it is customary to serve alcoholic drinks with snacks called , , or . These are usually quite salty and served in relatively small portions. Sakana are usually more substantial than tapas, although they are not considered a meal sinc ...

'' (snack), as an accompaniment to or garnish for meals, and as a course in the kaiseki portion of a

Japanese tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . While in the West it is known as "tea ceremony", it is se ...

Alternate names

Tsukemono are also referred to as , or , all carrying the meaning of "fragrant dish" in Japanese. The ''ko'' or portion in these names means "fragrant", and the term was used as a '' nyōbō kotoba'' or "woman's word" for miso in reference to the smell. Over time, this term was also applied to pickles, again for the smell. ''Oshinko'' ("fresh fragrance") more specifically referred to vegetables that had been only lightly pickled and that had not yet changed color that much. The term is now also used more broadly to refer to pickles in general.

Making tsukemono

To make tsukemono, one needs a container, salt, and something to apply downward pressure on top of the pickles. A ("pickling container") is a Japanese pickle press. The pressure is generated by heavy stones called ("pickle stone") 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 ''tsukemono ishi'' 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.

Asazuke (literally: ''shallow pickle'') is a Japanese pickling method characterized by its short preparation time. The name implies a food pickled in the morning and ready by the evening. The word ''asazuke'' can also refer to the items pickled in this ...

is a pickling method characterized by its short preparation time.

Tsukemono types

Takuan ( daikon), umeboshi ( ume plum), turnip,

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

, and Chinese cabbage are among the favorites to be eaten with rice as an accompaniment to a meal.

Beni shōga is a type of ''tsukemono'' (Japanese pickle). It is made from thin strips of ginger pickled in umezu (), the vinegary pickling solution used to make umeboshi. The red color is traditionally derived from red perilla (''Perilla frutescens'' var. ...

(red ginger pickled in umeboshi brine) is used as a garnish on okonomiyaki,

takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bod ...

and

yakisoba ''Yakisoba'' ( ja, 焼きそば ), "fried noodle", is a Japanese noodle stir-fried dish. Usually, soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour, but soba in yakisoba are Chinese noodles (Chuuka soba) made from wheat flour, typically flavored with ...

Gari Gari may refer to: Places *Gari, Tombouctou Region, Mali, a village *Gari, Russia, several inhabited localities *Gari, Kruševac, Serbia, a village *Gari (river), Monte Cassino, Lazio, Italy *Gari, an Indigenous name for Fraser Island in Queensl ...

(thinly sliced young

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

that has been marinated in a solution of sugar and vinegar) is used between dishes of sushi to cleanse the palate. Rakkyōzuke (pickled rakkyō, a type of onion) is often served with

Japanese curry is commonly served in three main forms: , curry udon (curry over thick noodles), and (a curry-filled pastry). It is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. The very common "curry rice" is most often referred to simply as . Along with the sau ...

. Rakkyōzuke is slightly acid and sweet, with a mild and "fresh" taste, due to being preserved in vinegar and mirin, which also remove its bitterness. It's used to balance the stronger flavors of some other components in a meal.

Fukujinzuke is a condiment in Japanese cuisine, commonly used as relish for Japanese curry. In ''fukujinzuke'', vegetables including ''daikon'', eggplant, lotus root and cucumber are finely chopped, then pickled in a base that is flavored with soy sauce. ...

is a mixture of daikon,

eggplant Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mos ...

, lotus root and

which is pickled and flavored with soy sauce. Bettarazuke is a kind of pickled daikon popular in Tokyo. Matsumaezuke is a pickled dish (native to

Matsumae, Hokkaidō is a town located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The former home of the Matsumae Han, it has an Edo period castle, Matsumae Castle, the only one in Hokkaido, and Ryūun-in. The total area of the town is . History *1900: Fukuy ...

) made from

surume Dried shredded squid is a dried, shredded, seasoned, seafood product, made from squid or cuttlefish, commonly found in coastal Asian countries, Russia, and Hawaii. The snack is also referred to as dried shredded cuttlefish. History and origins ...

(dried squid), konbu, kazunoko (

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

roe), carrot and ginger with a mixture of sake,

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

and mirin.

Nozawana Nozawana (野沢菜, ''Brassica rapa'' L. var. ''hakabura'') is a Japanese leaf vegetable, often pickled. It is of the same species as the common turnip and one of a Japanese variety of mustard leaf. Its leaves are approximately 60–90 cm ...

is a pickled leaf vegetable typical of Nagano Prefecture.

Tsukemono tariffs

According to EU and US trade code definitions, tsukemono are classified as 'preserved vegetables' rather than 'pickles' because they are not primarily preserved in

acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main component ...

or distilled vinegar. They have a different tax rate than western pickles.

References

External links