This is the third entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists.
To some in the Anglophone world, pickles might be all about a guy named Peter pecking at pickers packaging pipers. Well, that didn’t come out very well, did it? But you got it, right? To others, pickles might be all about cucumbers, with the odd watermelon rind thrown in occasionally for a little variation. If variety is what you seek in the pickle barrel, Japan has it for you. Reach right in and you may come up with some pickled ginger or cabbage or daikon or…. But if you are really lucky in the pickle-barrel grab bag, you will pull up some Nara-zuke.
As the name suggests, this wonderful creation originated in Nara a long, long time ago. It was originally referred to as “Kasu-zuke,” because its production involved the use of kasu, or sake lees, which were obtained from the dregs of doburoku, a beverage about which we have written often. “…it is thought that Nara-zuke was consumed by the upper-class.”1 Though now within almost everyone’s price range, it is still a class act.
And what exactly is pickled? Well, a wide variety of vegetables can find their way into Nara-zuke. Shirouri, or white melon, is the most traditional. For those in search of cucumbers and watermelon, there are modern variations on the ancient theme, as well.
1“Nara-zuke,” Traditional Foods in Japan, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, https://traditional-foods.maff.go.jp/en/menu/naraduke.
Drinking Japan 