161 replies to this topic

[torakris]

I'd like to bring to the attention of the forum an article which appeared June 19. 2000 in the
Japan Times online. The article is:
Sure, Japanese rice is expensive -- you're paying for all the chemicals
by Stephen Hesse
It's an eyeopener. At the end of the article there is an email address for the author
steve@tamacc.chuo-u.ac.jp

here is the link to the article:
http://www.japantime...e20000619sh.htm

it really is an eye opener....

[pirate]

Hiroyuki: I'm looking forward to your comments. In the meantime this is quoted from the Roppongi Hills Club website. Apparentlly there is organic rice. Is there a certification process for organic rice in Japan?

"The sushi rice served at Roppongi Hills Club", Chef Nakazato tells us, "is a special blend made by Mr. Saito, who supplies us based on our special requests. He owns Saito Sake in Chiba Prefecture. He uses mostly organic Koshihikari grain. Each harvest, he makes his strict selection from amongst high quality rice offerings and then exquisitely blends them with premium quality Hinohikari sweet rice from Saga Prefecture." The rice from Mr. Saito's blend is in optimal condition by virtue of his time-honoured blending techniques, which provide a balance between the tastes, flavours, and moistures of the large-grained organic rices. When such rice is cooked and served, the ball of sushi rice delicately separates in the mouth, and each bite liberates its full earthy flavour.

[Hiroyuki]

Is there a certification process for organic rice in Japan?

Yes, there is.
In April 2001 (quite recently),
有機JAS法 Yu-u-ki JAS (pronounced "jas", not J-A-S) Hoh (Organic JAS Law)
was put into effect.
Organic products have this mark, 有機JASマーク, yu-u-ki JAS mark, on them:

http://www.no1yuki.com/yukijas.html

You see the green mark in the middle. That's the one.

Don't trust anyone until you see the mark.

The term 有機 yu-u-ki (organic) used to be abused so much. Even today, there are so many people who just don't know the exact definition of that term. There used to be farmers who claimed their farm products were "organic" just because they used organic fertilizers, and there used to be supermarkets selling vegetables mislabeled as organic ones.

I read the Japanese version of the Roppongi Hills Club message
http://www.roppongih...12/index.html#1
Full of beautiful words, but no mention of the yu-u-ki JAS mark. Ask them if they use the real organic rice (有機米 yu-u-ki ma-i).

Needless to say, there are frauds:
http://www.no1yuki.c...ijas.html#fusei

I found one organic rice store on the web:
http://www.no1yuki.com/index.html
This stores deals in this rice, from the United States:
http://www.lundberg.com/
Prices:
http://www.no1yuki.com/syohin.html

Related information:
Japan Organic Inspectors Association (not much useful information, though)
http://www.ops.dti.n...es/index_e.html

There are three levels of cultivation with low or no agricultural chemicals:

1) 有機 yu-u-ki, just mentioned above
2) 無農薬 mu-nouyaku (no agricultural chemicals)
3) 減農薬 gen-nouyaku (reduced agricultural chemicals)

有機 has the stringent rules. Farm products cultivated with the other two levels must NOT have the 有機JAS マーク, mentioned above.

The other subject:

Before I can give you any meaningful comments, you'll have to answer the question:
You thought that the article was an eye-opener because 1) it made you realize that Japanese rice was expensive because of excessive use of chemicals OR because 2) it made you realize that Japanese rice contained a lot of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and was hazardous. Which is it? Or, both?
At this point, let me point out the following:
1) The high price of Japanese rice is a "structural problem". It's not something that you can solve by fixing a single element alone. The cost of chemicals (probably) accounts for a fraction of the total rice production cost. I have no data available at the moment to prove this, though.
2) The article is dated June 19, 2000; simply "outdated". We are in 2004. We all know more about EDCs (EDCs are more commonly known in Japan as 環境ホルモン kankyo hormones). We all know that they are hazardous. We all know that agricultural chemicals are sources of EDCs, but we also know that other foods, especially fish, are major sources of such hazardous substances.
My personal opinion is this: In this highly industrialized society of ours, we cannot escape from the hazard of such substances (and food additives). You can live in the mountains and lead a healthy, self-sufficient life, free from all those substances, getting away from it all. But I can't. The 20th century was a century of expansion. The 21st century will be an environmental century, a green century, and above all, a "golden century". We are in the middle of the transition to a better world. But, in the meantime, we are the victims of those substances.
What do you say?
Waiting for a reply.

Edited by Hiroyuki, 05 April 2004 - 08:31 PM.

[Hiroyuki]

I found two sites (both in Japanese):

http://www.maisen.co.jp/genmai.html

This tells you that brown rice 玄米 gen-mai has the capability of removing kankyo hormones and food additives from your body (at the bottom of the page).

http://www.gohan.ne....ata/01/123.html

This tells you that rice is grown with no fertilizers or agricultural chemicals in Thiland.

Wanna try?

Edited by Hiroyuki, 06 April 2004 - 02:26 PM.

[Hiroyuki]

Do you know this site:

http://www.gohan.ne....ata/komedb.html

お米データベース

A complete database on rice.
The problem is..., it's entirely in Japanese!

[Hiroyuki]

I just came home from shopping. I bought 10-kg, 100% Shiozawa-san Koshihikari brown rice for 5,600 yen, and milled it into white rice by myself at a 100-yen rice mill (100円精米所 100-yen se-i-ma-i-jo) nearby.
When you mill brown rice into white one, the rice reduces by about 10% in weight. Just for your reference.

***
Sorry, pirate, I still cannot take a photo of the label you wanted to see.

Edited by Hiroyuki, 06 April 2004 - 02:54 AM.

[JC]

All I can think of now is that "wow, rice in Japan is expensive!".

Here in Malaysia we can get a 10kg bag of top-grade Thai jasmine rice for about 900 yen. But most folks use a local grade that is only 450-500 yen per 10kg bag.

[helenjp]

450-500 yen per 10kg bag

Groan! I remembered that I had a bunch of rice coupons, so I used it to buy a 10kg bag of Niigata Koshi-ibuki yesterday. The labeling seemed a big ambiguous about the actual date of the rice crop, and it's not the most popular variety, but even so, the coupons weren't quite enough. 5,800 yen for 10kg...

[Hiroyuki]

No doubt about it: The rice in Japan is expensive.

But I'm not in despair. There are signs of hope.

Japan will not be able to sustain all of its high-cost structures in the near future, or it will go bankrupt.

The change from the obsolete Shokkan Ho to the new Shokuryo Ho in 1994 (effective in 1995) was largely due to the poor crop of the previous year (1993). It was the "weather" that caused that change. What we Japanese now need is a change from within ourselves.

Let me point out that the average annual salary in Japan is 4 million and 470 thousand (4,470,000) yen in 2002, including bonuses. It's been on the decrease for five years in a row.

http://www.yomiuri.c...0031229mh02.htm
(in Japanese)

An analyst says that the salaries of a majority of Japanese will further go down to the 3 million yen level. It is then that Japanese will make a change from within themselves. That's what I hope.

Japan could do with a revolution or two. Don't you think?

[JC]

Hiroyuki,

Just found this thread and it's very interesting.

Just wondering, does everyone in your town eat Uonuma-san Koshihikari rice? Or is it more like a luxury?

Is the rice cooked the normal way using a rice cooker?

[Hiroyuki]

does everyone in your town eat Uonuma-san Koshihikari rice? Or is it more like a luxury?

Is the rice cooked the normal way using a rice cooker?

1) Not everyone, I suppose. I think every farmer eats their own Koshihikari rice. Some people other than farmers get Koshihikari rice from relatives, friends, acquaintances, and so on. Others buy rice at supermarkets, rice stores, and so on.
It's not much of a luxury, but obviously we all know that our Koshihikari rice is expensive, even to us.

2) Oh, yes. Just the normal way. But I always use utmost care, because, you know, it's almost twice as expensive as normal Japanese rice.

[Hiroyuki]

Pirate:

I think you have three options:

1) Go to a rice store run by a knowledgeable proprietor, such as Suzunobu, and get a 2-kg bag of Uonuma-san Koshihikari rice. I guess it will cost up to 2,400 yen (up to 1,200 per kilogram).
2) Forget about Koshihikari rice and switch to another variety or type, such as Sasanishiki rice and organic rice. Uonuma-san Koshihikari rice is not the only brand with a toku A (特A) rating. Ask a sales clerk for more information.
3) Forget about buying Japanese rice. Just enjoy eating sushi and other Japanese foods while you are in Japan.

***
1) Rice starts to oxidize as soon as it is milled. Preferably, therefore, the bag of rice you are going to buy should be nitrogen-filled to keep the rice fresh. But I wonder if there is a rice store that offers such a service.
2) Once you buy a bag of rice, then you have to take FULL RESPONSIBILITY for turning it into nice and hot gohan (cooked rice). Do you know everything you need to do that? I wonder if you have a rice cooker.

Good rice is like a good wine. It's something to be savored, not just to be eaten. Put a mouthful of rice into your mouth with your chopsticks and munch without any other food. Enjoy the taste. And then, you can put other food into your month and enjoy the harmony. You may want to make rice balls, putting some salt on their surface. They are called shi-o-mu-su-bi (塩むすび), rice balls with salt only. They are very yummy, and you can tell the difference in taste when you eat rice this way.

I think it's early to say this, but let me say Bon Voyage!!

[naguere]

New seasons rice, is this a gormet delicacy? I believe it is, and would like to know more.

[Hiroyuki]

New seasons rice, is this a gormet delicacy? I believe it is, and would like to know more.

I'm not sure if I have understood your comment right, but let me tell you about shin-mai, ko-mai, ko-ko-mai, and on.

The rice harvested in the fall of a particular year is called the shin-mai (literally, new rice) of that year. The rice harvested in the fall of the previous year is then regarded as ko-mai (old rice), the rice harvested in the fall of the year before the previous is regarded as ko-ko-mai (old, old rice), and so on.

Most Japanese usually eat shin-mai, which is not a gourmet delicacy. This particular year, because of last year's poor crop, shin-mai is 20-30% higher than usual in price. Bichiku-mai (government-controlled, stockpiled price) is sold at supermarkets and other stores, unlike in other years, as well as shin-mai and blend mai (which refers to a blend of different varieties of rice, which may include ko-mai).

Edited by Hiroyuki, 07 May 2004 - 03:33 PM.

[torakris]

Like Hiroyuki said, I wouldn't call shin-mai (new rice) a gourmet delicacy, it is just something you look forward to in the fall....

[Hiroyuki]

This morning, I ate Koshiibuki (not Koshihikari) rice for the first time. It's a new variety deriving from Koshihikari. Bags of that rice were on sale at a local supermarket, and my wife bought one. Price? A 10-kg bag cost 3,880 yen.
I found it good and much lighter than Koshihikari.

EDIT:
Now I'm happy that I don't necessarily have to depend on expensive Koshihirari rice.

Edited by Hiroyuki, 01 June 2004 - 10:06 PM.

[pirate]

Here's an interesting article on identifying koshihikari rice.

http://www.asahi.com...0406230151.html

I believe there is a Japanese version.

[torakris]

I think I need to find the Japanese version bceause there is either a major typo or they are doubling the price when it gets to the market level.
In my area those are prices for 30, possibly 40 kilograms of rice.....

the article says:

According to recent bidding prices, while the nation's average price for rice is around 18,700 yen per 60 kilograms, koshihikari from Niigata sells for about 21,900 yen, and the choicest Uonuma koshihikari nets 31,300 yen.



Interesting article though.

[Hiroyuki]

Here is a Japanese version, if anyone is interested:

http://www.asahi.com...e/0609/003.html

[Pompollo]

The prices mentioned in the article are definitely wholesale prices. I wish I could buy!!
I found a site that sells Niigata Koshihikari. A 5kg bag of Ounuma (the most expensive kind) sells for 4,100 yen. For 60 kgs this would amount to 49,200yen. (The article says 60kgs went for 31,300 yen.)

Anyway, it's a lot more than I pay for the off-brand kinds that are on sale whenever I buy.... But now after reading this I am tempted to try this fancy stuff and see if I can notice the quality. But before I do, I really need to invest about 30,000 yen in a fancy rice cooker with all kinds of sensors, invertors, and a 7-layered, copper lined inner pot.
My 10+ year National is on its last legs.

[torakris]

did anyone see the show a couple nights ago (sorry can't remember the day, time, channel or name... )　about the mixing of shinmai (new rice 新米) and komai (old rice 古米) in bags of rice marked as 100% shinmai?

First they went to an apartment in Tokyo and gathered about 5 neighbors with 5 different brands of shinmai and placed some of the grains from each bag into separate dishes, they then added two chemicals and the shinmai appears with a red spot on it and the komai has nothing. Like this:
http://earlybirds.dd.../comparison.jpg
the bags contained somewhere from about 20% to 60 % komai even though there were all marked as being 100% shinmai. Then they went undercover (with hidden cameras) to various rice shops and asked the owners about it, most ignored the question or gave a no comment response, but one guy just laughed and said something like "of course, you can't possibly put all shinmai in the bag!" The staff then bought a 2kg bag of 100% shinmai rice (after first inquiring with the owner that it was indeed 100%) and took it back to the studio where they did the chemical test on every single grain (about 100,000) and then separated them grain by grain onto large pieces of black paper further separating them into shinmai and komai. I can't remember the exact results but it was something like 40% komai.....

[helenjp]

That's interesting! I know I've bought "shinmai" which could not possibly have been all new-crop rice, judging from the flavor and the crumbliness of the rice grains. I've given up paying higher prices for new-crop or fashionable brands, because I just don't feel that I'm getting the value that I pay for.

Then the government research institutes and the big companies wonder why Japanese people eat less rice than they used to...!

[torakris]

http://www.japantime...n20041214a1.htm

Rice genome is decoded; now expect new varieties to crop up

From the Japan Times:

Researcher Takuji Sasaki of the National Institute of Agrobiological Science and head of the Japanese team in the international effort, said Monday that scientists from 10 economies completed mapping some 370 million out of 390 million base pairs -- or 95 percent of the genome -- with an accuracy of 99.99 percent.
Analysts say they expect the research to contribute to the identification of useful genetic functions and lead to rapid improvement of crop varieties and an increase in food production.

The results could also be used for production of new varieties of maize and wheat that have similar features in their genetic maps to rice.




I am interested to see what comes of this...

[Transparent]

On the topic of Japanese rice, is it possible to get the same type of rice in the US? It doesn't neccesarily have to be an import, but is the same grain avaliable?

[melonpan]

On the topic of Japanese rice, is it possible to get the same type of rice in the US? It doesn't neccesarily have to be an import, but is the same grain avaliable?

i believe that japanese rice is grown in several countries other than japan including korea, australia and the us (particularly in california).

if you go to a japanese or a korean market, you will almost certainly find japanese rice there.

edited to add:

also at the higher end japanese and korean markets you will find imported rice from japan.

Edited by melonpan, 13 December 2004 - 06:14 PM.

[torakris]

A fully detailed (with pictures and text in English) account of how rice is grown in Japan from preparing the paddy to cooking the rice. Very informative.

http://www.coara.or.jp/~mieko/rice.htm

[Hiroyuki]

Here is an example of a label, printed at the lower left corner of the rice bag.
In this particular example, the date of milling and the seller are handwritten, which is rare.
 

This is a bag of koshiibuki rice that I purchased the other day:

And, this is the label of that bag:


A brief description of the label:
名称 精米
Description Milled rice
原料玄米 県内産
Brown rice as raw material Produced within the prefecture
産地 品種 産年 使用割合
Area of production Variey Year of production Percentage
新潟県産こしいぶき　16年度産　100%
Koshiibuki produced in Niigata prefecture 16th year of Heisei (2004) 100%
内容量　10 kg
Content 10 kg
精米年月日　2005.4.29
Date of milling April 29, 2005
販売者　(omitted)
Seller

[nondual1]

Kristen-san and Hiroyuki-san (and the others):

What a wonderful thread and thank you for sharing your insight on Japanese rice!

As soon as I finished my first bowl of rice in Osaka a few years back, I realized that all the so-called "Japanese rice" I had had outside of Japan were pretty much fakes. If it weren't for possible customs restrictions (and the weight!), I would have smuggled a few kilos of the real thing back in my luggage. Real Japanese rice is heavenly, the ultimate staple.

I was under the impression that, due to long-standing national policy, Japan banned the export of rice (and severely restricted the import of the same as well). I was pleasantly surprised to find small -- and thus relatively expensive -- bags of rice that claimed to be produced in Japan, not the US, available here in Vancouver, BC. There are three varieties available now: Komachi from Akita, Hitome from Miyagi and -- I forget the type -- from Chiba. I have tried the Akita one so far and it tastes very different from the US-grown types I used to use, with much shorter grain, and almost as heavenly as the bowls I had in Japan. The color, the sparkles, the texture, the taste... ahhhh!

My question to the experts at hand is, thus, can these exported rice be real? In other words, is there really a ban on export? Another related question is: is rice pretty much a commodity such that, say, one bag of Miyagi Hitome rice is just as good as the next -- or is it more like Burgundy wines, that which are produced ten feet apart can taste vastly different?

Thanks!

[Hiroyuki]

My question to the experts at hand is, thus, can these exported rice be real? In other words, is there really a ban on export? Another related question is: is rice pretty much a commodity such that, say, one bag of Miyagi Hitome rice is just as good as the next -- or is it more like Burgundy wines, that which are produced ten feet apart can taste vastly different?

Thanks!

Thank you for such a wonderful post. I've never expected to hear such favorable comments about Japanese rice.

I don't think there is a ban on the export of Japanese rice; the question is who wants to buy expensive Japanese rice. One webpage says that Japanese rice is exported to Thailand, Malaysia, and Europe. Another says that it is also exported to Taiwan, where it is popular among Japanese living there and the high income group despite the fact that it is three to six times more expensive than local rice.

To your second question, I'd say yes, but not 'vastly different'. The difference is so subtle that you can tell the difference by carefully eating rice only, without any okazu (side dishes).

Here is something I wrote in another thread:
http://forums.egulle...=0

In 1992, when I came over to this sleepy little town, everything was new to me. I once had a conversation with a couple of middle-aged local women, and they said, "The rice grown in such and such a place is good, but the rice grown in such and such a place is bad." I was surprised that even in such a small town, good rice was grown in some places and bad rice in others, and these women knew this. I said surprisingly, "Wow, it's just like wine!" They agreed.

Edited by Hiroyuki, 08 May 2005 - 04:29 AM.

[itch22]

I need some clairification on Japanese and Japanese-style rice.

Calrose is a type of medium grain rice grown in California suitable for use in Japanese cooking, correct?

Titles such as Botan and Shirakiku are brand names of Calrose rice? (A side note, Botan labels their rice as Calrose on the front but referes to the rice as musenmai on the back.)

If so, how come some information sources list Shirakiku rice as a type of rice?

How come Botan's calrose rice tastes COMPLETELY different from Shirakiku's calrose rice? I compared the two, both bags being "new crop" rice. Can the soil and/or milling process really make THAT much differece?

What are the types of rice used in Japan?

Does anyone know of any good and thorough sources of information about the types of Japonica and calrose rice?