Umeboshi and Pickles

Pickled food is an essential part of Japanese cuisine. There are hundreds of varieties with many regional specialties.

It is very common to pickle vegetables or fish in salt, miso or sake lees. Japanese pickles are best served with plain rice as they add salt and aroma. It is said that Japanese pickled are very healthy due to the fermentation process. Most Japanese pickles qualify as macrobiotic food. They usually are very refreshing and stimulate digestion.

One of the most popular pickles are umeboshi plums and related products. The traditional ones are very salty and sour but sweetened and flavored umeboshi recently become very popular too. Pickled Takuan reddish and red shiso seasonings are also excellent ingredients for sushi rolls.