🍱 Akakabu-zuke

Deep in the mountains, where winter often brings heavy snow, pickled vegetables were a precious source of food in the Hida region. Various vegetables such as daikon radish, turnip, cucumber, and burdock are commonly enjoyed as pickles, but among them, pickled red turnips, known as "Akakabu-zuke," continue to be passed down through households in the region, renowned for their resilience to snow and frost. The key ingredient for "Akakabu-zuke" is the "Hida Beni-kabu," a red turnip that originated from a spontaneous mutation found in the Haga turnip in 1918. The abundant sugars and lactic acid bacteria in the soft and enlarged turnips create a unique flavor profile with a subtle sourness. This distinct taste is attributed to the traditional method developed during the Edo period, born out of the necessity to conserve salt, which was once scarce in the mountainous Hida region. The vibrant red color, a distinctive feature of Akakabu-zuke, is a natural pigment from the skin. As fermentation progresses, the originally white flesh is dyed red, and the flavor deepens.