Here are 17 Interesting Sushi facts.
1-5 Sushi Facts
The Japanese considered raw salmon dangerous since Pacific salmon was prone to parasites. Norway had too much salmon and decided to focus on teaching Japanese consumers that Atlantic salmon was safe to eat raw. It took ten years for Salmon sushi/sashimi to finally become popular. – Source
Wasabi was originally eaten with sushi to kill bacteria and parasites in the fish. Now with better sanitary conditions it’s not needed and eaten just out of habit. – Source
The pickled ginger served with most sushi is meant to cleanse your palate between different pieces and can be offensive to the chef if used as a topping. – Source
In 2013, a genetic test of fish in restaurants and supermarkets showed 84% of Sushi restaurants in the US mislabeled and replaced tuna with Escolar, a fish known to cause prolonged, uncontrollable oily an*l leakage. – Source
The US has about 3,946 sushi restaurants and Japan has about 45,000. – Source
6-10 Sushi Facts
Sushi is meant to be eaten by hand, rather than with chopsticks. – Source
The reason sushi with cucumber is often called something with “kappa” is that there is a Japanese mythical creature called Kappa, which lives in ponds and likes cucumber. – Source
Sushi was originally a preservation method for the fish. Only later did people come to eat the rice. – Source
There is a company in Vancouver that provides sushi served on nude female models. The rules are no talking to the model, no touching the model, and no lewd gestures or comments. – Source
There are transgenic fish used in sushi to make it glow. – Source
11-15 Sushi Facts
Ikizukuri is a form of sushi where the fish is scaled, filleted, and served alive. – Source
Uni served in sushi restaurants are gonads, the only edible part and fivefold, of a sea urchin. – Source
The spicy sauce you eat on sushi is just mayonnaise mixed with sriracha. – Source
Eighty-six-year-old Jiro Ono is considered to be the world’s best sushi chef. Customers make reservations at his Tokyo restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, up to a year in advance. His rice is described as a cloud that explodes in your mouth. He also holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s oldest three-Michelin star chef. – Source
The most expensive price ever for a sushi-grade bluefin tuna was $1.8 million for a 222-kilogram fish in Japan. Over 80% of the world’s declining tuna stock is eaten by the Japanese. – Source
16-17 Sushi Facts