are Japanese preserved vegetables (usually

pickled Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called ...

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

brine Brine (or briny water) is a high-concentration solution of salt (typically sodium chloride or calcium chloride) in water. In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawat ...

, or a bed of

rice bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a cereal grain consisting of the hard layersthe combined aleurone and pericarpsurrounding the endosperm. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with the germ, it is ...

). They are served with

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

as an ''

okazu ''Okazu'' ( or ; ; ) is a Japanese word meaning a side dish to accompany rice; subsidiary articles of diet.''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', They are cooked and seasoned in such a way as to match well when eaten with rice, and a ...

'' (side dish), with

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

s as an '' otsumami'' (snack), as an accompaniment to or garnish for meals, and as a course in the

kaiseki or is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. The term also refers to the collection of skills and techniques that allow the preparation of such meals and is analogous to Western haute cuisine. There are two kinds of traditional Japanes ...

portion of a

Japanese tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or lit. 'Hot water for tea') is a Culture of Japan, Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . The term "Japa ...

Alternative names

Tsukemono are also referred to as , , or , all carrying the meaning of "fragrant dish" in Japanese. The ''ko'' or portion in these names means "fragrant", and the term was used as a '' nyōbō kotoba'' or "woman's word" for

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae''), and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spreads; p ...

in reference to the smell. Over time, this term was also applied to

pickles Pickle, pickled or Pickles may refer to: Food * Pickle, a food that has undergone pickling * Pickled cucumber * Pickle, a sweet, vinegary pickled chutney popular in Britain, such as Branston Pickle, also known as "sweet pickle" or "ploughman's ...

, again for the smell. ''Oshinko'' ("fresh fragrance") more specifically referred to vegetables that had been only lightly pickled and that had not yet changed color very much. The term is now also used more broadly to refer to pickles in general.

Making tsukemono

To make tsukemono, one needs a container, salt, and something to apply downward pressure on top of the pickles. A ("pickling container") is a Japanese pickle press. The pressure is generated by heavy stones called ("pickle stone") with a weight of one to two kilograms, sometimes more. This type of pickle press is still in use, and can be made from a variety of materials, such as plastic, wood, glass, or ceramic. Before ''tsukemono ishi'' came into use, the pressure was applied by driving a wedge between the handle of the container and its lid. The weights are either

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

, with a handle on top and often covered with a layer of food-neutral

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

. Another modern type of pickle press is usually made from plastic, and the necessary pressure is generated by turning a screw and clamping down onto the pickles.

Asazuke (literally: ''shallow pickle'') is a Japanese pickling method characterized by its short preparation time. The name implies a food pickled in the morning and ready by the evening. The word ''asazuke'' can also refer to the items pickled in this ...

is a pickling method characterized by its short preparation time.

Tsukemono types

Takuan ''Takuan'' (; also spelled ''takuwan''), or ''takuan-zuke'' (; 'pickled takuan'), known as ''danmuji'' () in the context of Korean cuisine, is a pickled preparation of daikon radish. As a popular part of traditional Japanese cuisine J ...

(

daikon Daikon 大根 (だいこん) or mooli, (مولی) ''Raphanus sativus'' var. ''longipinnatus,'' is a mild-flavored winter radish usually characterized by fast-growing leaves and a long, white, root. Originally native to continental East Asia ...

umeboshi ''Umeboshi'' (Japanese language, Japanese: wiktionary:梅, 梅干し, pronounced , ) are pickled (brined) ''ume'' fruits common in Japanese cuisine, Japan. The word ''umeboshi'' is often translated into English as 'salted Japanese plums', 'J ...

(

ume ''Prunus mume'', the Chinese plum or Japanese apricot, is a tree species in the family Rosaceae. Along with bamboo, the plant is intimately associated with art, literature, and everyday life in China, from where it was then introduced to Kor ...

plum),

turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties a ...

cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.Chinese cabbage Chinese cabbage (''Brassica rapa'', subspecies ''pekinensis'' and ''chinensis'') is either of two cultivar groups of leaf vegetables often used in Chinese cuisine: the Pekinensis Group (napa cabbage) and the Chinensis Group (bok choy). These v ...

are among the favorites to be eaten with rice as an accompaniment to a meal.

Beni shōga is a type of ''tsukemono'' ( Japanese pickle). It is made from thin strips of ginger pickled in umezu (), the vinegary pickling solution used to make umeboshi. The red color is traditionally derived from red perilla (''Perilla frutescens'' var ...

(red ginger pickled in umeboshi brine) is used as a garnish on

okonomiyaki is a Japanese ''teppanyaki'' savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients (mixed, or as toppings) cooked on a '' teppan'' (flat griddle). Common additions include cabbage, meat, and seafood, and toppings include ...

takoyaki Takoyaki ( or ) is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter (cooking), batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus as food, octopus (''tako''), tempura scraps (''tenkasu' ...

and

yakisoba (, , ) is a Japanese noodle Stir frying, stir-fried dish. Usually, soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour, but soba in are Chinese-style noodles () made from wheat flour, typically flavored with a condiment similar to Worcestershire sauce ...

. Gari (thinly sliced young

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

that has been marinated in a solution of sugar and vinegar) is used between dishes of

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

to cleanse the palate. Rakkyōzuke (pickled

rakkyō ''Allium chinense'' (also known as Chinese onion,Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name DatabaseUniversity of Melbourne. Updated 3 August 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2014. Chinese scallion, glittering chive, Japanese scallion, Jiangxi, Kiangsi sca ...

, a type of

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

) is often served with

Japanese curry Japanese curry (, ) is commonly served in three main forms: (curry over white rice), (curry over thick noodles), and (a curry-filled pastry). It is one of the most popular Japanese cuisine, dishes in Japan. The very common curry rice dish is m ...

. Rakkyōzuke is slightly acid and sweet, with a mild and "fresh" taste, due to being preserved in

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

and

mirin is a type of rice wine and a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine, Japanese cooking. It is similar to sake but with a lower alcohol (drug), alcohol content and higher sugar content. The sugar content is a complex carbohydrate that forms natur ...

, which also remove its bitterness. It is used to balance the stronger flavors of some other components in a meal. Fukujinzuke is a mixture of

eggplant Eggplant (American English, US, Canadian English, CA, Australian English, AU, Philippine English, PH), aubergine (British English, UK, Hiberno English, IE, New Zealand English, NZ), brinjal (Indian English, IN, Singapore English, SG, Malays ...

lotus root ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as the pink lotus, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more of ...

and

popular in Tokyo.

Matsumaezuke is a pickled dish of dried squid and kelp, native to Hokkaidō, Japan, named in reference to the Matsumae clan which once governed the region, then known as Ezo. It is made from dried and preserved seafood products from Hokkaidō. ''Surume'' ( ...

is a pickled dish (native to

Matsumae, Hokkaidō is a town located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The former home of the Matsumae Han, it has an Edo period castle, Matsumae Castle, the only one in Hokkaido, and Ryūun-in. The total area of the town is . History *1900: Fukuy ...

) made from surume (dried squid),

konbu ''Konbu'' (from ) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' () or ''haidai'' (). Kelp features in the diets of many civilizations, including Chinese and Icela ...

, kazunoko (

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

roe Roe, ( ) or hard roe, is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooking, c ...

), carrot and ginger with a mixture of

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

and

. Nozawana is a pickled leaf vegetable typical of Nagano Prefecture.

Tsukemono tariffs

According to EU and US trade code definitions, tsukemono are classified as 'preserved vegetables' rather than 'pickles' because they are not primarily preserved in

acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main compone ...

or distilled

. They have a different tax rate than western pickles.

References

External links