Wholesale Sushi Fun Facts

Wholesale Sushi means wholesale fun at SushiMaven.com, so here we’ve collected some fascinating facts relating to the world of sushi!

• Sushi means “it’s sour” in Japanese, a reference to the food’s origin in preserving fish through fermentation. The word sushi today refers not to the fish or vegetables in the dish, but the vinegar, sugar and salt-treated rice which forms the basis of the food.
• Traditionally, a sushi chef had to undergo a full decade of training. Today, most itamae (chefs) spend two years learning how to properly prepare the sushi rice, and three more learning to properly cut and present the fish before being permitted to work at a sushi bar.
• Roughly 80% of the bluefin tuna caught in commercial fishing is used for sushi. Ironically, bluefin tuna was once considered unfit for human consumption by the Japanese people.
• Some sushi chefs prepare octopus by giving the animal a full-body massage while the octopus is still alive!
• Nori, the seaweed used in sushi rolls, is a kind of algae. Originally, it was scraped from the docks, rolled into sheets and dried in the sun. Today it is farmed and packaged in standard sizes. Nori is also commonly eaten as a snack, like potato chips.
• The most common drink served with sushi is a green tea called ocha. Higher-class sushi restaurants will serve a special tea called mecha.
• Fugu (pufferfish) is sometimes served as sushi, even though its liver contains a lethal neurotoxin with no know antidote. Selling or serving the liver of the pufferfish is illegal in Japan, and sushi chefs must acquire a special license to serve any other part of the fish.
• The most expensive bluefin tuna ever sold was a 444-pound fish purchased for $173,000 in 2001 in Tokyo. That’s $391 per pound!
• Many sushi restaurants serve their sushi in the kaiten zushi (“sushi train”) style. A conveyor belt passes before the seated diners, who can take whatever they want as it passes by!