Sushi History

If you love sushi, you might be surprised to know that it's an ancient food form in Japan, it's been popular there for at least a thousand years. The original sushi was a form of pickling fish, using rice and seaweed as the pickling agents. This helped preserve the fish for long periods of time. Over the centuries, the pickling process changed, vinegar was added to speed up the process, and finally, fresh fish and rice replaced the pickled varieties, making sushi much closer to what we enjoy today.

Sushi was enjoyed in Japan for centuries, but it really became a hit in the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s. For example, between 1988 and 1998, the number of sushi bars grew by 400 percent across the United States, although you could find sushi in some coastal western cities, like San Diego, as early as the 1950s. In a strange twist, these Americanized versions of sushi bars are now becoming increasingly popular in Japanese cities like Tokyo.

Preparing sushi is an art form, and traditionally, sushi chefs have undergone rigorous training in their field. They must know how to wield a knife correctly, but they must also know how to choose the freshest fish, construct the various sushi dishes and online games, and arrange them artfully on the plate. Early on in Japan, sushi chefs were required to complete ten years of training before they could work on their own, today, that's changed, but chefs still undergo extensive training.

While the history of sushi and sushi bars is interesting, there are some things you should know before you visit your local sushi bar for a nutritious and delicious plate of your favorite fish. There are some very important "rules" when you order and eat sushi, also due to time honored Japanese traditions and history.