[Contributed by] Connected Rice Shop, Kometak.
Hello! I am a connected rice dealer, Kometak.
Kometak, a rice shop that started in Uchino, Niigata City, in April 2015 to increase the number of likes and gaps in people's lives.
Three people who moved to Uchino from outside the prefecture have planned and organised breakfast meetings, rice shop building workshops, online sales and cooking classes with grandmothers, in order to create a familiar rice shop where different generations can get together.
Iizuka Rice Shop in the Uchino shopping arcade is our rice master and a friend we work with.
In this issue, we asked Mr Iizuka to take the time to tell us about 'new rice', which may seem familiar but is actually unknown to us!
Introduction to rice studies I: "What is new rice?"
One day, Yuki-chan, a Cometak member who grew up in Tokyo, asked Iizuka this.
' When does new rice come out?' What is it?" And.
Mr Iizuka seemed somewhat convinced: "After all, you can't tell in Tokyo, can you?
He then told us that.
'In so-called chain restaurants and convenience stores, you have to keep the taste the same.
Then you don't want the taste to suddenly change when the rice is new.
So we mix rice from different years so you can't tell where the new rice comes from."
Mixing rice from different years. The new rice character can be a disadvantage.
For those of us who had taken the view that "new rice = delicious", this came as a shock.
And apparently not everyone thinks that 'new rice = tasty'.
In working as a cometak, we want to know what the newcomers are.
Here again, I wanted to ask Mr Iizuka to tell us what the new rice is.
I have been asked to open a class on Introduction to Rice Science I.
advertisement
Chapter 1: 'What is a newcomer?'
Iizuka:
Officially, new rice is rice that has been milled after 1 November.
On 1 November, the academic year will change.
Rice milled before 31 October is now called old rice.
But generally speaking, it is only at the end of September or beginning of October that the supermarkets start to sell the new rice.
Cometak:
What is the difference between new rice and old rice?
Iizuka:
Hmmm. I wonder if it's the smell. There's the smell of new rice.
Also, new rice is good because of the moisture in the rice, which makes it fresh.
Rice is alive, so if you leave it in a dry place, it will lose more and more water and the water content in the rice will decrease.
Cometak:
I see. So the freshness that you feel when you switch from old rice to new rice is because the old rice has dried out?
Iizuka:
'Yes. But old rice can retain the same moisture content as new rice if it is kept in a place with 65% humidity and 15°C temperature.
If stored properly, old rice can be fresher than new rice.
New rice can also be harvested in September, when temperatures can reach 30°C or more. Then, even though it is new rice, it doesn't taste good.
The rice has to be roughly heated. The moisture content varies from grain to grain, so new rice tastes better if it has been left to mature for about 10 days after harvesting.
So the grains of rice absorb and desorb moisture through each other to reach an average moisture content."
Cometak:
Freshly picked is not always absolutely delicious.
Iizuka:
'Yes. And the difference between the old rice and the new rice is the whiteness.
Over time, the starchy surface of the rice grain deteriorates and whiteness decreases.
So even though the moisture content is the same, the rice turns darker as it gets older. So, for the summer, the intensity of the milling process is gradually increased
I try to scrape off the degraded starchy parts. The whiter the rice is, the better it tastes."
Cometak lecture notes:
You also change the degree of milling according to the season. I knew there was a technique to make sure you get good tasting rice all year round.
CHAPTER 2. 'Work in the New Year's Season'
Cometak:
What is unusual about the new rice season?
Iizuka:
Once the rice is milled, eat it anyway.
You don't know what this year's rice from this grower is like until you try it anyway.
I'll just have to feel it with my tongue.
At this time of the year, the cycle is repeated: try cooking different rice every day, eat it and then cook it again.
Cometak lecture notes:
That's great. Iizuka-san is straight with the rice today.
CHAPTER 3. Comparison of new and old rice
We wanted to give everyone a sense of Mr Iizuka's commitment to preservation methods, so we practised a certain food comparison.
2014 Koshihikari rice stored at room temperature and
Koshihikari from 2014, preserved using Mr Iizuka's special methods, and
Comparison of new rice.
The participants in the eating contest were asked to
They are asked to compare which rice is which and which is not.
'Which rice do you like best?' When asked, the three respondents were very different.
Answers were divided into three categories.
When the results were announced, participants were surprised.
'Ew! That's a newbie!"
'Wow, I couldn't tell the difference between cold stored rice and new rice!'
'Wow, I'm so drawn to it because it's what I'm used to eating, stored at room temperature.'
Such as.
This includes.
Mr Iizuka was also surprised.
And a word of advice.
'I guess I think what I've eaten and what I'm used to tastes good.
Taste is really an original experience."
4. conclusion of the lecture.
- The difference between new and old rice is the moisture content, but if stored in cold storage at 65% humidity and 15°C, it can be kept as fresh as new rice. After all, rice is alive!
- New rice does not always taste better freshly picked.
- Everyone should eat rice that they think tastes good, because everyone has different tastes.
It was!
This concludes the lesson on Introduction to Rice Science.
How was it?
As with anything, I feel that if you question the 'norm', you can see a new world.
Even the 'obvious' things that everyone says, such as 'new rice tastes good' or 'Uonuma rice tastes good', can change for some people, depending on their condition.
It must be people like Mr Iizuka who have been facing one important thing for a long time who can create an opportunity to question the norm!
What you say about the new rice may be well known to people in Niigata, although they may have a different view and knowledge,
It would be nice to know that one small rice shop feels and thinks strongly about these things!
It is the time of year when delicious new rice is available in Niigata. Try eating your rice while thinking about rice a little more than usual, and remembering that there was a story about this new rice.
Iizuka Shoten's rice can be purchased from the website of the connected rice shop Kometak! http://kometaku.net/wp/tokurasu/
Please contact us for a course on how to compare eating & eating good rice, which was written in Chapter 3, and can be carried out on request.
[Contributed by] Connected Rice Shop, Kometak.
Sponsored Links
*The content of this article is correct at the time of interview and submission, but the accuracy of the information is not guaranteed. For the latest information, please check directly with the interviewed party.
advertisement
