🍱 Akadozuke

A traditional pickle that has been passed down through the ages in Aso (in some areas, such as the former Ichinomiya town) along with Takanazuke pickles. It's also called “Aso horse sashimi” or “field horse sashimi” because of its color, shape, and how it's eaten. Akadoimo, a type of taro cultivated in this area, is a name unique to the Aso region and has been passed down along with regular seed potatoes. The stems have low bitterness and take on a beautiful red color, so they've been used for pickles since ancient times. As for how they're pickled, a small amount of salt is rubbed in these stems and a weight is placed on them so the water rises overnight as it soaks. Once the stems become soft, they're sprinkled with vinegar. Black liquid rises to the surface, so this is removed. After leaving it for a while, the color changes to red. When they turn a beautiful bright red, they're ready to eat. Peel the skin, cut them into appropriate lengths, and eat them with soy sauce or ginger soy sauce. There were no refrigerators in the past, so these were pickled from mid-September until around the first frost and eaten during this period. It's said that the ones harvested around the mid-autumn harvest moon have a particularly vibrant color, and even a slight variation in the pickling method can affect the color. It seems the women of the house worked very carefully when pickling the “akadozuke.” Vinegar is used to make these pickles, but when the temperature drops lactic acid fermentation is used instead of vinegar. It's indispensable as a lunch box item for the farm work of autumn such as cutting hay. It's a pickle that feels like the arrival of autumn for the people of Aso.