# Yukina no fusubezuke (Pickled yukina cabbage) ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Yukina no fusubezuke (Pickled yukina cabbage)

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Okitama Region

## Main Ingredients Used
Yukina cabbage, salt

## History, Origin, and Related Events
"Yukina no Fusubedzuke" is a pickled dish using yukina, a snow cabbage. Yukina is one of the Yamagata-Okitama traditional vegetables, a special vegetable of the Okitama region. The name "Fusubezuke" comes from the dialect word "fusuberu," which means "to quickly dip in hot water". Yukina cabbage is a rare, blanch vegetable that grows in the snow in Japan. It is said that Lord Uesugi Takayama encouraged its cultivation in order to secure fresh vegetables in snow country. It is said to have been selected and bred from a natural crossbreeding with Nagaoka cabbage introduced from Echigo. This is a vegetable that can only be produced in deep snow. It used to be called "kabunotou" (turnip's stem), but in 1930, the name "yukina" was given after improvements were made to encourage its cultivation. Currently, yukina is grown in the Kaminagai area (Sasano, Koshida, and Toyama) within Yonezawa City. The edible part of Yukina is its inner center, which grows in the snow. It is sown in late August or early September, and harvested in early November when it has grown to 60 to 80 cm in height, with the roots intact. Because yukina is susceptible to frost damage, the growers bundle 12 to 13 plants together, tie them up with straw, surround the bundle with more rice straw and soil (a process called "tokoyose"), and wait for the plants to be covered with snow. The temperature and humidity are maintained in the snow, and the plants nourish themselves with their own leaves and grow stalks inside. Only the inner center is used to pickle, which is about 20% to 25% of the whole amount of cabbage before being covered by the snow.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Yukina is a vegetable that grows in the cold of winter. In the Yonezawa City area of the Okitama region, yukina appear on tables from around New Year's when the cold winter sets in. They may remain on the market until mid-March, depending on the planting and snowfall conditions. It can be used in salads and other dishes, but the most delicious way to eat it is to pickle it in "fusube-zuke".

## How to Eat
The word "fusube (ru)" is a dialect word meaning "to quickly boil in hot water. Raw yukina has a slightly bitter taste, but poring boiled water on it brings out its unique pungency. The ingredients are simple, just yukina and salt, but it needs some skills for boiling the vegetable. Repeat soaking yukina in boiling water for 3 to 5 seconds about three times, then chill with cold water, add salt, seal in a heavy plastic bag, and let sit for three days. This unique pungent ingredient is called isothiocyanate. The pungency takes three days to develop. Because it is volatile, the pungency will disappear if it is exposed to air continuously. So it is best to eat it as soon as possible after removing it from its sealed state. This pickle dish can be served with rice or as a snack.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches to commercialization)Yukina is a familiar food in the Okitama region. Many households casually purchase them at supermarkets or farm stands and make "fusubezuke" (pickles) with them.The Slow Food Association of Italy has designated yukina pickles as part of the "Ark of Taste," which is considered a world heritage of food.

## Ingredients
- Yukina cabbage: 400g
- Salt: 8g (2% of Yukina weigh)

## Recipe
1. 1. Clean the yukina, remove any green or damaged parts, and cut into 3 cm pieces. Split the thickest part of the root lengthwise so that it is easier to eat.
2. 2. Prepare a wide-mouth pot, a colander the size of the pot, and a bowl the same size as the colander. Boil plenty of water in the pot and prepare cold water in the bowl.
3. 3. Place the cut yukina in a colander and dip them in boiling water for 3 seconds while still in the colander. Then immediately pull them out. If the quantity is large, keep them in the boiling water a little longer. Keep the pot of boiling water on the fire while doing this.
4. 4. Drain the hot water, flip the yukina as you shake the colander. And again dip it in boiling water for 3 seconds, and then immediately pull it up. Flip the yukina again, dip it in boiling water, and pull it up (three times in total). It is important not to overboil because the firmness, and crunchiness is the key.
5. 5. To ensure uniform hardness throughout, cover the colander with yukina and steam for 1 1／2 minutes in the residual heat.
6. 6. Immediately cool in a bowl of cold water. Change the water, and cool again thoroughly under running water. Drain.
7. 7. Sprinkle salt over the boiled yukina, and mix it well.
8. 8. Put them in a pickling container and seal with a thick plastic film to prevent the pungent flavor from escaping. Place a weight twice as heavy as the yukina. If you do not have a pickling container, prepare a plastic bag as thick as possible, put in the yukina, close the bag tightly, and put a weight on the bag (Water is produced, so it should be double-layered). When the water rises, reduce the weight by half and place the bucket in a cool place such as a refrigerator.
9. 9. The third day after pickling, it becomes pungent and ready to eat. It is best to eat it within a week, as the pungency will disappear over time.

## Provider Information
provider : Hiroko Saito, Yamagata Prefectural Yonezawa University of Nutrition Sciences, and Yonezawa City Kaminagai Yukina Production Cooperative

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