Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Fish packed in salted rice fermented for months before the rice was thrown away. The figure is taken from The Food Timeline, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a food fact?

Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Sushi began as a way to keep fish

Fish packed in salted rice fermented for months before the rice was thrown away The earliest sushi, known as narezushi, packed salted fish in cooked rice and left it to ferment for months or longer. Lactic acid from the rice preserved the fish, and the sour, mushy rice was discarded as packaging. A faster style using vinegared rice appeared in the eighteenth century, and the handful of fish on rice came later in Tokyo. It sits in Mondo's food collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

The Food Timeline

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

World Cultures trivia

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Natto is a sticky fermented soybeanBacillus subtilis spores the beans and produces a slippery web of threads Worcestershire sauce is a fermented seasoningAnchovies, molasses and spices mature in barrels for months before bottling Sourdough relies on wild yeast and lactic acid bacteriaLactobacilli sour the dough while wild yeasts generate carbon dioxide bubbles Lactic acid bacteria transform milk into yoghurtBacterial fermentation lowers pH to coagulate milk proteins into a thick gel Yeast converts sugars into carbon dioxide gasSaccharomyces cerevisiae consumes simple sugars to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide Soy sauce relies on fungal koji and brine fermentationAspergillus oryzae mold breaks down bean proteins into savoury glutamates

Tags: sushi, fermentation, japan

Sushi began as a way to keep fish: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Fish packed in salted rice fermented for months before the rice was thrown away. The figure is taken from The Food Timeline, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a food fact?: Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.