It is believed that sushi was introduced around the 7th century A.D

Sushi making used to be a preservation of fish by the use of fermentation since there was no fridges back then.

Nare - Sushi “Narezushi” It’s one oldest recorded ways of fermentation.

Fish was put with rice , salt under a stone and fermented to up to three years.

During this time, Nare sushi started dividing into two types one is: hon-nare and nama-nare. One is Raw Ripe the other Pre Ripe.

Nama-nare became quickly the more populare style of zushi in that period of time. The Rice that was used to stuff the fish actually became eatable and the process was shorted by a lot.

People started to use Vinegar and citrus to ferment the fish with. Which sped up the process of fermentation to as little as 1 or overnight.

Haya Sushi - Vinegar Rice in a bowl topped with various raw fish.

Edo(Toyko) Era time Chef Yohei-Hananoya created a quick hand formed Nigiri Sushi this process included Rice mixed with rice vinegar and topped with Fish.

Marukan and Mizkan which are both Sake companies, developed a rice vinegar using the remaining fermented rice from Sake.

Sushi Chefs from Japan migrated to Los Angeles looking for work.

In the area “Little Tokyo” sushi chefs started to develop their own style of sushi with the local fish and vegetables. That’s where the famous “California Roll” Has been first invented.

Which led to a new way of Fusion sushi also known to us these days as: “ California Japanese Sushi”

Although sashimi or slices of raw fish were consumed in Japan for centuries the tradition was carried over with the Chefs from Japan to California.

Sushi only changed to the way it is now due to the feedback of the customers. In the Edo Style era it was very hard to change the cooking way of a conservative Japanese Sushi Chef. Some things which were considered taboo in the Edo style sushi tradition actually turned out to be very good.

These days most central European Sushi is different combinations of existing ingredients with different names given to them.

Which is Fusion Sushi - an interesting evolution of Japanese Cuisine that keeps going in new directions and it’s interesting to see the new creations from Chefs around the world.