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Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

bbc.com

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Re: Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

#31

Post by Clewza313 »

pinko wrote: post #23
kurthr wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are welcome to have ALL of mine. I've had Swedish fermented herring, and not only did it smell awful, but I became disgusted with the Ammonia and H2S smell in my own mouth. The friend who had conned me into trying it then dumped it in the trash and his Swedish wife got upset because of the stench and made him take the entire bag of trash out at night when it was unpleasantly cold, wet, and windy. Turns out she's…

I believe Icelandic fermented fish was one of the few foods Anthony Bourdain found revolting. Based on my own experience with Icelandic and Japanese approaches to flavor, I would bet Funazushi tastes better, though.

That would be hákarl, fermented shark:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1karl

Re: Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

#32

Post by samatman »

shoto_io wrote: post #19
dllthomas wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sashimi isn't sushi. Sushi literally means "sour rice". In the version of it I know (probably from a Good Eats episode), fish was "fermented packed in rice" (probably a gloss of this process) leading to... sour rice and fish. The modern practice of getting sour rice by mixing in some rice vinegar is an evolution of a much faster approximation of that dish.

Interesting. So Sauerkraut and Sushi have similar roots. Sauerkraut was also fermented in the old days. Now, vinegar is used, which btw kills any useful fermentation bacteria.

I don't believe that's true.

Del Monte sauerkraut comes in a can (which is why I picked it as an example) and contains only cabbage, water, and salt:

https://www.delmonte.com/products/vegetables/sauerkraut/saue...

It's pasteurized of course, which kills off the beneficial bacteria, but it's still fermented to make it.

There are other pickled vegetables made with vinegar, including cucumbers, but fermentation is still the more common method.

Re: Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

#33

Post by distantaidenn »

dcolkitt wrote: post #14
euske wrote: post #7

I think that almost every culture has this kind of food that is supposed to be super good to those who acquired taste but looks totally gross to outsiders. Japan has this half-rotten sushi and fermented soybeans, and then there's maggot cheese and notorious fermented herrings, etc.

From conversations I've had with East Asians, I think many think of cheese in general as a pretty gross food.

Interesting. In my experience, living in Japan and Korea, cheese is everywhere -- sometimes in dishes you wouldn't even expect. I wonder if age is a factor in your observations.

Re: Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

#34

Post by xvedejas »

JetAlone wrote: post #13
kurthr wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are welcome to have ALL of mine. I've had Swedish fermented herring, and not only did it smell awful, but I became disgusted with the Ammonia and H2S smell in my own mouth. The friend who had conned me into trying it then dumped it in the trash and his Swedish wife got upset because of the stench and made him take the entire bag of trash out at night when it was unpleasantly cold, wet, and windy. Turns out she's…

I've had pickled herring before, I find it very tasty. I also like Natto. I have a strong predilection towards food that tastes spicy, bitter, salty and/or umami. Sweet stuff is fine. I like Vodka, so cheers to that.

Natto is none of spicy, bitter, salty, or umami. It also doesn't have the pleasant sharpness of pickled herring or vodka. It is glue, in both texture and taste, but also in function. Based on how firmly it glued my mouth shut, I'm certain it could find more industrial uses. Truly more bizarre than you make it.

Re: Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

#35

Post by grenoire »

mango7283 wrote: post #28
tootie wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pizza is pretty popular in East Asia though.

And there's such a thing as hong Kong style cheese baked rice. I mean it's 2021. When I was growing up Kraft singles were common. Today I can go to a supermarket and pick up a block of Gouda. Also, I think there's degrees of lactose intolerance? I don't really take full cream milk as is anymore because of that but cream and cheese and lattes are fine...

Definitely degrees to it, and also for many people it does fluctuate over time depending on how much you help your guts keep feeding on lactose to keep the workers alive.

Re: Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

#37

Post by boomboomsubban »

distantaidenn wrote: post #33
dcolkitt wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From conversations I've had with East Asians, I think many think of cheese in general as a pretty gross food.

Interesting. In my experience, living in Japan and Korea, cheese is everywhere -- sometimes in dishes you wouldn't even expect. I wonder if age is a factor in your observations.

Both those countries also have sixty years of exposure to cheese through the US military presence, the change may be fairly recent and may be somewhat limited to areas foreigners are likely to go.

Re: Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

#38

Post by fomine3 »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #37
distantaidenn wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. In my experience, living in Japan and Korea, cheese is everywhere -- sometimes in dishes you wouldn't even expect. I wonder if age is a factor in your observations.

Both those countries also have sixty years of exposure to cheese through the US military presence, the change may be fairly recent and may be somewhat limited to areas foreigners are likely to go.

Cheeses (mostly processed cheese) are pretty common food (at least than funazushi) in Japan everywhere at least for 20 years. It seems that lactose in cheese isn't much high.

Re: Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

#39

Post by fnordsensei »

fomine3 wrote: post #38
boomboomsubban wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both those countries also have sixty years of exposure to cheese through the US military presence, the change may be fairly recent and may be somewhat limited to areas foreigners are likely to go.

Cheeses (mostly processed cheese) are pretty common food (at least than funazushi) in Japan everywhere at least for 20 years. It seems that lactose in cheese isn't much high.

It depends on your level of lactose intolerance. I have a family member who is lactose intolerant, but can eat aged, hard cheeses.

An aged, hard cheese will have much lower levels of lactose than a fresh, soft cheese, to the point where it virtually disappears.

Re: Funazushi: The fermented predecessor of modern sushi

#40

Post by babesh »

tastyfreeze wrote: post #30
euske wrote: post #7

I think that almost every culture has this kind of food that is supposed to be super good to those who acquired taste but looks totally gross to outsiders. Japan has this half-rotten sushi and fermented soybeans, and then there's maggot cheese and notorious fermented herrings, etc.

I have always thought of these foods as "kept my ancestors from starving" foods. Things that were discovered by accident when people were starving and became a way have stored food to keep from starving in the future.

Salted fish in the same general approach as funazushi is still practiced in some Chinese cultures. I wonder if Chinese would find funazushi tasty.
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