HIROSHIMA, Nov. 30 — Workers at JA Hiroshimashi, an agricultural cooperative based in the city of Hiroshima, are busy pickling Hiroshima-na mustard greens, a traditional local specialty popular as year-end gifts.
Around 4 tons of Hiroshima-na greens are placed in a pickling tank which is 1.8 meters wide and long and 3 m deep. After salt is sprinkled on them, they are pressed down with nine 250-kilogram weights.
Up to roughly 15 tons of the vegetable are pickled in a day.
They are pickled for a whole day, rinsed with water and then pickled again for one more day.
Chili peppers and kelp are added at the end to create Hiroshimanazuke pickled Hiroshima-na greens.
Yasutaka Fujimoto, 45, head of JA Hiroshimashi’s Hiroshimanazuke center, said, “By pressing them down with weights and removing moisture quickly, you can enjoy a crunchy texture.”
Hiroshima-na, which belongs to the mustard family, has been cultivated for generations in the Kawauchi district of the city’s Asaminami Ward. Forty farms in the district currently grow the vegetable on farmland totaling 9 hectares.
The greens are harvested between late October and late January.
Hiroshimanazuke can be purchased at mass retailers in Hiroshima Prefecture and JA Hiroshimashi’s direct sales shop.
Hiroshima-na greens are pressed down with large weights to make pickles in the city of Hiroshima.