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The origins of sushi

Sushi Originates back to the 4th century BC in South East Asia. Originally the fish were cleaned and gutted and were kept in rice as the natural fermentation of the rice helped to preserve it. This type of sushi is called Nare-Sushi was kept for several months before being eaten however unlike modern day Sushi the rice was discarded.

In today's society you will find sushi served in Japanese restaurants however

over this period the consumption of Sushi first spread throughout China and it wasn't until the 8th century AD during the Heian period that it was introduced to Japan. It was during this period that Sushi became more of a cuisine rather than a way to preserve food.

The Japanese people began making Haya-Zushi later on in the late 18th and early 19th century known as the Edo era (now Tokyo), This dish of both rice and fish the sushi we know today was unique to Japanese culture. It was introduced due by Yohei Hanaya a chef who found himself short of food for a dinner party in 1824 due to drought and food shortages instead of the rice being discarded he shaped the rice and placed the raw fish on top . It was a simple but delicious dish so he introduced it on his street- food stall. Not long after this sushi stalls soon outnumbered most other food outlets in Edo. In 1923 Japan suffered from the great Kanto earthquake this was when nigiri sushi spread throughout Japan as many of the skilled edomae sushi chefs in Edo lost their jobs and were diffused all over Japan.

During the early 1970's sushi restaurants popped up all over America with the famous conveyor belt restaurants .Following into the health conscious 80's the sale of Sushi and increase in Japanese sushi restaurants throughout the world has increased dramatically with the introduction of sushi machines which combines the mass production of sushi with the delicate skills used by sushi chefs. Sushi is often thought of as raw fish however sushi is defined as any dish made with vinegar and rice which may or may not include raw fish. Sushi is now a multi-billion dollar industry and because of its popularity and health benefits it is likely to continue for many more centuries to come.

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