Tsukemono

Japanese pickles are classified by the medium in which they are cured. The simplest is salt, which draws water from vegetables and lets lactic bacteria develop. Nukazuke uses a bed of fermented rice bran that is stirred by hand every day; a well-kept nukadoko can be handed down in a family for decades. Other media include miso, soy sauce, vinegar, kōji, and the lees left over from sake brewing.

Pickles also differ in time. Asazuke ('shallow pickles') are lightly cured for hours or a day and stay crisp and fresh. Long-cured pickles such as takuan or umeboshi can be kept for a year or more.

A few pickles are found all over Japan and appear on everyday tables, in bento boxes and alongside specific dishes: pickled ginger with sushi, red ginger with yakisoba and gyūdon, and the sweet, brown fukujinzuke with curry rice.

Kyoto is famous for pickles made from its heirloom vegetables (Kyō yasai), and three are often called the city's great pickles: shibazuke, senmaizuke and sugukizuke. Snowy regions of northern and central Japan developed pickles to see them through winter, and many towns sell their local kinds as a regional speciality.

Pickles are eaten with rice rather than on their own, and a few slices come with most set meals (teishoku). In kaiseki, the closing course of rice, miso soup and pickles is a fixed part of the sequence. At home, a small bowl of rice finished with pickles and green tea poured over it (ochazuke) is a classic simple meal.

Because many pickles are high in salt, portions are small. Some lactic-fermented pickles have attracted interest as probiotic foods, while salt-reduced versions have become common in shops.