Tsukemono facts for kids

Tsukemono are a traditional Japanese food. They are vegetables that have been pickled, usually in salt or a salty liquid called brine. This process can take a few days or even many years! Tsukemono are a bit like the pickles you might find in Western countries, but in Japan, they are almost always eaten with rice. They add a fresh, crunchy, and often salty or sour taste to meals.

What Are Tsukemono?

Tsukemono are a very important part of Japanese meals. They are often served as a side dish, adding color and flavor. Many different kinds of vegetables can be used to make tsukemono. Some common ones include radishes, cucumbers, cabbage, and plums.

Why Make Tsukemono?

People have been making tsukemono for a very long time. One main reason is to preserve vegetables. Before refrigerators, pickling was a great way to keep food from spoiling. It also adds unique flavors and textures to vegetables. Tsukemono can be crunchy, soft, salty, sweet, or sour, depending on how they are made.

How Are Tsukemono Made?

The process of making tsukemono is called pickling. It involves soaking vegetables in different ingredients. The most common way is to use salt. The salt pulls water out of the vegetables, which helps to preserve them.

Different Pickling Methods

There are many ways to pickle vegetables for tsukemono:

• Salt Pickling (Shiozuke): This is the simplest method. Vegetables are just pressed with salt.
• Brine Pickling (Suzuke): Vegetables are soaked in a mixture of vinegar, sugar, and salt. This gives them a tangy taste.
• Rice Bran Pickling (Nukazuke): Vegetables are buried in a special fermented mixture of roasted rice bran, salt, and water. This method creates a unique, earthy flavor.
• Miso Pickling (Misozuke): Vegetables are pickled in miso, a paste made from fermented soybeans.
• Soy Sauce Pickling (Shoyuzuke): Vegetables are soaked in soy sauce.

Popular Types of Tsukemono

There are hundreds of different tsukemono! Here are a few famous ones:

• Umeboshi: These are pickled plums. They are very sour and salty, often bright red. People usually eat them with rice or inside rice balls (onigiri).
• Takuan: This is a bright yellow pickled daikon radish. It's crunchy and has a slightly sweet and tangy flavor.
• Gari: These are thin slices of pickled ginger. You often see them served with sushi to cleanse your palate between different types of fish.
• Kyuri Zuke: These are simple pickled cucumbers, often made with salt and sometimes a little soy sauce.

Eating Tsukemono

Tsukemono are usually served as a side dish with almost every Japanese meal. They are often part of a traditional breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They can also be found in bento boxes, which are packed lunches. Eating tsukemono helps to balance the flavors of a meal and adds a refreshing crunch.

Images for kids

• 

  An assortment of tsukemono

• 

  Tsukemono shop in Nishiki Ichiba, Kyoto

• 

  Tsukemono fermenting in rice bran

• 

  Umeboshi drying in the sun for home preparation

• 

  A dish of tsukemono

See also

In Spanish: Tsukemono para niños