A truly exquisite taste aged in the snow to a heavy snowy area

One of the best snow resorts in Japan Nagano prefecture. The accumulated snow becomes rich melting water and hydrates the earth and nurtures a variety of agricultural products. People living in heavy snowy areas have also taken advantage of the characteristic that the snow is an absolute space that is hardly affected by the outside, and have been using its long-standing use in preserving and aging food. At this point, efforts to view "snow" as an important natural resource are gaining attention.

Snow about 2m deep is digged with heavy machinery or shovels, and finally, carefully harvested by hand.Shinshu"Senior cabbage in the snow." In addition to members of the production association, many people come from outside the village and outside the prefecture to help out, harvesting work, which is mainly carried out on Saturdays and Sundays, making it an opportunity for people to interact with each other.

Snow began to fall in the village around December, and the cabbage was covered in moist snow, which contained a lot of water from the Sea of ​​Japan, and the harvest began in January. The harvest is done with heavy machinery, then with a shovel to dig the snow through the cabbage, and finally with a careful hand to remove the snow. A typical cabbage weighs around 1.3kg per ball, but cabbage in the snow is average, around 2kg, and a larger one can sometimes harvest a whopping 6kg class.

What's more, its most appeal is its sweetness. Normally, cabbage has a sugar content of 3-4 degrees, andShinshu"Yutari Cabbage in the Snow" boasts a sugar content that is comparable to strawberries, at a temperature of over 8 degrees. The temperature is almost 0 degrees under the snow, and the cabbage remains at an exquisite temperature that does not freeze, and as the cabbage is hard to store sugar to prevent it from freezing, the sweetness increases dramatically in a short period of time, while reducing the spiciness and bitterness. The flavor that is brought out from the vitality of cabbage and the freshness that is unique to cultivating in the snow stands apart from "snow storage," which stores vegetables and other vegetables in the snow.

Snow cabbage, simply seasoned with sesame oil and salted kelp, is perfect for tea-making. The closer you get to the core, the sweeter it is, and there is no cabbage smell.

When asked about how to eat it, he said, "First, eat it raw!" I bite into the freshly harvested and it filled my mouth with a crisp texture and amazing sweetness. The core of cabbage in the snow has the sweetest core, so it is also recommended to cut the core and make tempura. It seems that the sweetness is even more noticeable.

"Cabbage in the snow has become a branded vegetable. In the future, we would like to ensure stable production even if the weather is slightly bad and further establish a sales route," says Aoki Goji of JA Daikita. As one of the "Northern Alps Foothills Brands" and as a product of a snowy country, cabbage in the snow will continue to develop.

The temperature is maintained at an exquisite 0°C under the snow, and the carrots in the soil condense the sweetness without freezing.

From sowing seeds in July to harvest at the end of April, it takes 9-10 months, more than twice the usual amount.Timesをかけて栽培され、約半分の期間は雪の下で甘みを凝縮するスノーキャロット。 Due to food damage caused by animals such as mice or root rot from the snow melt, the yield can be about 70% compared to regular carrots. As a result, the taste is exceptional, and once you take a bite, the crisp texture and sweetness fill your mouth. It has little carrot smell, making it seem like eating fruit. They often receive letters of joy from buyers, such as "No vegetable has been so touched by this," and "Even children who hate carrots are happy to eat snow carrots," and receive calls waiting for the harvest, and many fans become captivated by the taste once they eat it.

Mr. Eguchi tried out the snow over more than 2m.

Eguchi has been rooted in such deep snowy lands and has produced products that make use of the climate. Mr. Eguchi also said, "The challenge is not only to agriculture, but how to live with the snow in this area. Even if it's still quiet, it will fall, so we have to make good use of it," and he also felt a sense of his desire to take the next challenge.

They also store beets and red core radish, which are rare in Japan, grown by farmers in the city.

Approximately 120cm in the city, and 3m in the mountainsIiyama City. Daily snow shaking is a common thing in everyday life. Three years ago, I wondered if I could use this snow as a resource and utilize it.Iiyama CityThe Public Citizens' Collaboration Promotion Office took the lead, and experiments began renovating and using unused warehouses in the city into modern versions of "Snow Room." The snow room, which covers 70 to 80% of the space inside the building, is a natural, high-performance refrigerator that maintains a temperature of 1-3 degrees and 100% humidity throughout the year. This is an attempt to preserve local sake, root vegetables, gensoba, rice, and more.

Then the results began to be good. Not only is it possible to ship differently by keeping it fresh for a long period of time by cold storage, but it also has also changed the taste, with sake becoming mellow and potatoes becoming sweeter.中でもそばは、通常であればTimesThe flavor also faded, but the gensoba, which was stored in the snow room, had a scent even in the summer, and the sweetness was slightly increased.

Iiyama Yukimuro Aged Soba is characterized by its aroma like new soba and a subtle sweetness. Preparations are underway for sale.

A snow room that is energy-saving, environmentally friendly, and adds value to products. This initiative won the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award at the "Decarbonization Challenge Cup 2021," which recognizes various initiatives across the country that will help prevent global warming. Matsukawa Mikuchi, a city manager, talks about his future prospects, saying, "We often suffer from snow, but we would like to make use of the snow to be considered a 'gift from nature', and we would like to create a 'Iiyama Yukimuro Gozen' (tentative name)' using specialty products stored in the snow room, leading to a development that will make it possible for people to come to the local community and enjoy themselves."Iiyama CityWe can't take our eyes off the future developments towards "Rishiki."