Niigata-Yukiguni cuisine

Yukiguni Cuisine 雪国料理 (snow country cuisine) is a speciality that is often found in the snow regions across the Snow-belt side of the Sea of Japan where it gets really cold. These are areas with heavy-snowfall and are quite cold, so the way people live is based on being aware of snow, living with the snow, and having to wear things that work out in such conditions during the snow season. This results in a unique cuisine that combines preserved ingredients and fresh ingredients that warms both body and soul. The preparations of winter snow led to seasonal foods that have their own techniques in being made for example: snow-aging, undersnow-harvest, and deeko tsugura storage.

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The term snow country was popularized by the full-length novel by Yasunari Kawabata who wrote about the lifestyle of the snow, so more people got interested in places with snow. Snow Country is modeled after Yuzawa Onsen in Minamiuonuma District, Niigata Prefecture. This is the story of Shimamura, who has a wife and children and lives freely, and is drawn to the purity of Komako, a geisha he meets in a hot spring town. Snow Country was written from the late autumn of 1930 to 1933, and is written in beautiful poetry-like prose about the love story between Shimamura and the geisha Komako at Takahan, an inn in the lonely snow country at the time. In essence Minamiuonuma that is also the most famous for its Rice and Donburi, is also famous for Snow Country Cuisine, and the gift of natures Snow-melt Water that can make unique drinks that taste like the region..

In Niigata, there is a Snow Country Tourism Zone where there are places that specialize in Snow Country Tourism, like: Uonuma City, Minamiuonuma City, Yuzawa Town, Tokamachi City, and Tsunan Town. It is being recognized more often with Yukiguni Gastronomic Tourism where ingredients that are featured are: snow-water, mountain vegetables, and fire. Prefectures that are most known for their Yukiguni cuisine are: Gunma, Nagano, and Niigata. The prefectures that are known as snow country prefectures are: Yamaguchi, Fukui, Akita, Ishikawa, Yamagata, Tottori, Shimane, Toyama, Aomori, and of course Niigata. Further resources can be found from the “Snow Country Tourism Association” or Hatago Isen, Satoyama Jujo, Echigo Yuzawa Onsen, and more.

Niigata Snow-Aged Foods
Snow fall made life in Niigata very difficult and for half the year the snow would continue to fall.
Yukimuro Snow-Aged (yukinohako. snow warehouse), storing the food in the snow by taking the food and putting it into the snow. Food could get damaged as it is open to the elements and nature, meters of snow would cover the snow. Those living in Niigata would eventually create a small storage box, or have a split snow system, and then cover these with snow and would protect the food giving it a sweeter, refreshing, earthy after taste. Food could remain cold without using any man powered energy and it would take advantage of the blistering cold (3 degrees). That is until technology came around with refrigeration that would consume energy. If food is aged in the snow box it has a brand certification for being “Snow Aged”. A few items that are known to be snow aged is: Meats (pork, beef), Vegetables, Shoyu, Sake, Coffee, Tea, Rice.