Sushi On Ice.(Kairinmaru Beer Ltd. )(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)

It sounds almost like sacrilege. But a small Japanese company is daring to challenge the centuries-old assumption that sushi must be freshly prepared and eaten soon afterward. The owners of Otaru-based Kairinmaru Beer Ltd. swear the company's patented process allows sushi to be made cheaply, frozen and defrosted as needed, without the help of special equipment or the use of artificial additives.

Tip Sheet decided to investigate. We sampled sushi from plastic packages that had been frozen for weeks--even months--and then defrosted in an ordinary microwave. It seemed a risky proposition. But the fish tasted good, much better than store-bought sushi in North America and Europe. The rice is a bit on the sweet side and the fish slightly firmer than the fresh, more tender sushi. But the quality of Kairinmaru's sushi is surprisingly high, even when it comes to more fragile, short-shelf-life items like salmon roe and mackerel. For those who can't rough the raw, try the ...