TIL Why Takeout Sushi Always Comes with Plastic Grass
Though plastic sushi grass is a modern development, the idea behind it has been around for centuries. Flowers, leaves, fruits and branches have been used to line vessels in Japanese cuisine for over a millennium, according to Nancy Singleton Hachisu, a James Beard Award–winning food journalist and an expert in authentic Japanese cuisine.
The use of leaves to separate food, however, became common during the Edo period (1603–1864). “Originally, the Kanto region (around Tokyo) used sasanoha [leaves from the bamboo plant], while the Kansai region (around Kyoto) used haran.”
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It's so you get your daily dose of microplastics, obviously.
you mean to get your 12th daily dose of microplastics?
jokes aside, i hate when my sashimi touches the ginger for take-out. the spots denature (is that the correct term in english?) as if it was cooked. i sure wish they used more shredded raddish.
As a native English speaker, I'm not entirely sure if 'denature' is or is not the best word, but I totally understand what you mean.
And honestly, off the top of my head, I can't even think of a better word, so denature(d) works I guess.
Still, what's wrong with bamboo leaves or other natural things? Why plastic now?
Money. Plastic is cheaper, easier to store, doesn't spoil, etc
I've literally seen cotton paper money that's older and still more durable than the dryrotted plastic slides at our city park.
Please don't feed me a line of shit by trying to say plastic 'doesn't spoil'
That's a false equivalence.
That hot dog sealed in epoxy is like 5 years old and still looks the same. But the piece of wood I left in my yard last October is rotted and useless now.
Therefore, hot dogs are stronger than lumber.
Logic!
Paper money left in wet conditions rots.
Plastic out in the sun and weather conditions breaks down a lot faster than in a storage room.
You know what's funny about the plastic cards? They come with an expiration date, often just a mere 4 years after you got the card.
Yet you can still spend a cotton paper bill from 50 years ago, assuming you weren't stupid enough to store it in a swamp or a rat infested basement...
It's the right word.
The acids denature the proteins causing them to become firm and opaque just as if they had been cooked.
There are some dishes, like Ceviche, that use this effect intentionally ("cooking" fish in lemon juice).
Found the Lego connoisseur.
Podiatrists hate this one trick
You're doubling down if you're eating fish.
You ever eat shark or alligator?
I've had both, even if they're not technically considered as fish. But if it'll just as soon eat you, I'll just as soon eat it, preferably first.
I was commenting on the frightening amount of plastic in our oceans, but I suppose sharks and alligators would get even more platic from kayaks and surf boards or whatever.
Sea creatures not only consume microplastics, they also literally 'breathe' in the feces of other sea life.
Imagine if our air was filled with gaseous shit.
Oh, wait...
Dude, just come hang out with me after an A&W binge
confused European sounds
Am EU, have seen plastic sushi decor.
Can confirm. You get plastic grass between takeout sushi in all big German cities.
Similar idea:
Never seen atroturf on me sushi either
The number one use of kale up until a couple of decades ago was the same exact thing. I learned that at a place where we lined the salad bar with it.
Pizza Hut was the largest purchaser of Kale.
I wish Japan would get on board with using plants to separate the sushi instead of plastic. I don't think they have much kale but surely something else would work. Regrettably the wrapping culture is still kind of out of control, and the plastic use reflects that in a lot of ways.
We have people growing kale, but I think a lot of it ends up in green smoothies, a handful of restaurants, and maybe something like animal feed (though not sure on that last one). Something like hakusai or other greens ribs with mild aroma might be a possible substitute, but it could also impact shelf life.
Well, yeah.
I’ve never seen this in Canada. Is this an American thing?
Am Canadian, it's definitely a thing here. At least in BC it is.
We have the plastic grass separators here in Japan.
LMAO at the downvote. Been here a decade and got grocery store sushi last week, plastic separator included.
I've only seen it in cheap gas station and grocery store pre-made packages. Never at an actual sushi/sashimi place.
I’ve seen it from some of the local sushi places here in Southern Ontario. I always thought it had something to do with trying to keep the flavours separate.
Interesting. I've never seen that but I also don't think I ate sushi as take-out until Covid, so I have little experience to draw from.