A taste of local cuisine that has not changed for 400 years nourished by crystal clean underground water

"You can eat the parsley without washing it because I don't use pesticides," Takahiro Miura says while harvesting Japanese parsley in the waist-deep water in the rice paddy. Prompted by his words I picked some and sampled them. A unique refreshing aroma of Japanese parsley burst through my nose and a hint of bitterness was left on my tongue. Japanese parsley is believed to have been cultivated in Shimoyoden, Natori City since 400 years ago.

Mr. Miura says it is all because of an abundance of underground water that runs through this region. The most flavorful season is around February when nutrients are stored in the roots. It is the local tradition to eat the roots as well. With the passion of local people to spread Japanese parsley's wonderful taste at the height of the season, Japanese parsley hot pot was invented and has become known in Miyagi Prefecture as a staple gourmet food during winter. Now, Mr. Miura has clients from both inside and outside the prefectures.

However, he has also experienced a problem. "Due to the trend there are now many restaurants that serve Japanese parsley. But sometimes people say it doesn't taste good all because it was served without proper preparation. I fear that the 400-year history of Japanese parsley is getting temporarily swayed by its growing popularity and will be completely forgotten in the end." Because of these reasons, Mr. Miura supplies Japanese parsley only to reliable restaurants that will prepare it properly. He feels enthused by reliable restaurants and so he helps them to become even better. "I want people to enjoy Japanese parsley when it tastes at its best. I hope I can suggest even tastier ways to enjoy it based on the people who eat it."

The ultimate salmon brand from Miyagi, these gifts of the sea are nurtured in the mountains.

Their scales beautifully glow silver, and the fatty pink-hued flesh melts in your mouth, the sweet flavor spreads the more you chew...these are the greatest features of Miyagi Salmon, one of the highest quality farm raised salmon brands that has come to represent Miyagi.

"For Miyagi Salmon, fresh caught salmon are killed by pithing to preserve freshness. This technique allows the salmon to stay fresh for a long time" Ujiyama Junichi says confidently. He processes and sells fish food for farm-raised fish in Ishinomaki. Ujiyama helps to grow safe, tasty salmon through the production of fish food, which is made from 100% high quality fish powder, soybeans and formula feed (EP feed) containing minerals. Therefore, there is no risk of parasites which are often found in wild salmon and the salmon can be safely consumed uncooked. Also unlike wild or imported salmon, you know who the producer is with farm-raised salmon.

Young salmon are raised in the water in the mountains for a year before being transported to corves in the ocean around November and harvested the following March. Ujiyama emphasizes that the producer responsibly manages the entire process.

Farm-raised salmon is great for uncooked dishes such as sashimi or sushi. The salmon's quality, achieved by a production process developed over many years, has been recognized by the national government and registered as a Geographical Indication (GI), a first for an agricultural, forest and fishery product from Miyagi Prefecture.

This familiar food from the mountains is cultivated slowly on perfectly temperature-controlled mushroom beds.

At the foothills of Nanatsumori in Taiwa Town located just to the north of Sendai City, shiitake mushrooms have been cultivated on logs since ancient times. Hayasaka Seikichi is one of the farmers who have cultivated shiitake mushrooms for many years. Since switching to using mushroom beds in 1995, he has been producing shiitake mushrooms while taking steps to expand this industry, such as establishing the “Nanatsumori Mushroom-bed Grown Shiitake Mushroom Producers Association”.

According to Mr. Hayasaka, “Shiitake mushrooms grown on logs require wood logs cut to precise dimensions and made from trees that had been cut from fall to winter. As such, they are easily influenced by weather and environmental conditions, making spouting and harvesting amount unpredictable. On the other hand, shiitake mushrooms grown on mushroom beds in temperature-controlled greenhouses have the advantage of being available for harvest all year round.”

In the 20 greenhouses owned by the association, 130,000 mushroom beds are housed. The harvested shiitake mushrooms are shipped mainly to Sendai, Fukushima, Yamagata and Tokyo. "The growth quickens if it is too warm, so we maintain the temperature inside the greenhouse at 15 degrees. Growing them slowly at a lower temperature makes the mushrooms thicker and firm." Mr. Hayasaka says he can identify to some extent the mushrooms that will grow big and beautiful as soon as they germinate. He also says some even grow to be over 10 cm in diameter.

Despite his wealth of experience, he makes sure to attend a yearly workshop. He visits other shiitake mushroom growers across Japan and devotes himself to learning new techniques. "When the mushrooms grown on the beds first went to market, the quality of the mushrooms on the logs was better. But nowadays technology has improved, and I believe there is little difference in quality." Mr. Hayasaka expresses confidence that his endeavors will continue.