The ultimate taste aged in the snow to the heavy snowfall area of ​​silver

Nagano Prefecture has one of the best snow resorts in Japan. The fallen snow becomes a rich snow -melting water, moisturizes the earth, and nurtures various agricultural products. And people living in heavy snowfalls have been useful for preserving and aging foods for a long time, using the characteristic that the snow is an absolute space that is rarely affected by the snow. Nowadays, the efforts of "snow" as an important natural resource are attracting attention.

The "Shinshu Ozen Snow Cabbage", which digs about 2m deep with heavy equipment and scoops, and finally harvests it by hand. It is said that there are many members of the production union for harvesting work on Saturdays and Sundays, and many people visit from outside the village or outside the prefecture, which is an opportunity for exchanges.

In the village, the snow has begun to fall from around December, and cabbage starts with a moist snow from the Sea of ​​Japan, over the year, and starts full -scale harvest in January. First of all, use a heavy machine, then dig the snow to the cabbage with a scoop, and finally remove the snow carefully by hand. The weight of the general cabbage is around 1.3 kg per ball, but the cabbage in the snow is an average of about 2 kg, and if it is large, 6kg classes may be harvested.

Furthermore, the most attractive is its sweetness. Usually, the sugar content of cabbage is said to be 3 to 4 degrees, and the "Shinshu Ozuyuki Cabbage" is more than 8 degrees, which is more than eight degrees, which is comparable to strawberries. Under the snow, the cabbage is not enough to freeze at nearly 0 degrees, so the cabbage is kept hard in the cabbage so that it does not freeze, so the sweetness increases in a short period of time, while the spicy and bitterness can be reduced. is. The flavors drawn out of the vitality of cabbage and the freshness of the cultivation in snow are different from "snow storage", which preserves vegetables in the snow.

Snow cabbage, which is simply seasoned with sesame oil and salted kelp, is perfect for tea. The closer to the core, the stronger the sweetness, the more cabbage smell.

When I heard how to eat delicious, it said, "First of all, live!" So when I bitten the harvested freshly, the crisp texture and surprising sweetness spread throughout my mouth. The cabbage in the snow has the strongest sweetness of the core, and it is recommended to cut the core into tempura. It seems that the sweetness is more prominent.

"" Snow Cabbage "has been established as a branded vegetable. In the future, we want to make it possible to make stable production even if the weather is somewhat bad, and further establish a sales route." Goji Aoki. Cabbage in the snow will continue to develop as one of the "Northern Alps Foot Brands" and as a product in snowy countries.

Under the snow, an exquisite temperature of about 0 degrees is maintained, and the carrot in the soil condenses the sweetness without freezing.

Snowcarrot is grown more than twice as much as normal, 9 to 10 months from the seeds in July to the end of April, and about half of the period of sweetness under the snow. Due to the damage caused by animals such as rats and the root rotation caused by the melting water, it may be about 70 % of the yield compared to ordinary carrots. The taste is exceptional, and when a bite, the crisp texture and sweetness spread over the mouth. It has a low carrot smell and is as if you are eating fruits. "There are no vegetables that impressed me so much", "Children who dislike carrots will also be happy to eat snow carrots", and you often receive joy from purchasers, and you often receive calls waiting for harvest. There are many fans who are captivated.

Eguchi digged me in more than 2m snow.

Mr. Eguchi, who has been rooted in snowy land and has produced products that make use of the culture. Mr. Eguchi, who says, "Not only agriculture, but also how to live with snow in this area. Even if you are silent, it will fall, so you have to use it well." Masu.

In Japan, which is grown by farmers in the city, we also store beets and red core radish.

Iiyama City is about 120cm in the city and 3m snow in the mountains. Daily snacking is a matter of course in life. Three years ago, the Iiyama City Civil Cooperation Promotion Office was the center of the Iiyama City Civil Cooperation Promotion Office, and experiments in renovating the unused warehouse in the city were renovated and used three years ago to use it as a resource. A snow room, where 500 tons of snow is spread in 70-80%of the space in the building, is a natural high -performance refrigerator that maintains 1 to 3 degrees and 100%humidity throughout the year. It is an attempt to save local sake, root vegetables, Gennosoba, rice, etc.

Then, good results began to appear. Not only will the long -term freshness can be shifted by the long -term freshness by preserving the cold temperature, but also the taste of sake is mellow, and the potatoes have increased sweetness. Above all, the flavor of buckwheat normally drops over time, but Gensoba, which was stored in the snow room, was scented even in summer, and the sweetness increased.

"Iiyama Yukimuro Aged Soba" featuring the scent of a new soba and a subtle sweetness. Preparation for sales is underway.

A snow room that is environmentally friendly, energy -saving, and add value to products. This initiative has won the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award for the "Calculator Challenge Cup 2021", which commends various efforts throughout the country, which leads to global warming prevention. Mr. Matsukawa Matsukawa, a city representative, said, "I often suffer from snow, but I want to use snow as a" gift from nature ", and use a special product stored in the snow room. I want to make Yama Snow Muro Gozen (tentative name) and lead to a development that will come to the area and enjoy it. " Keep an eye on the future development toward the "snow" in Iiyama City.