【Reading】さば

【English Name】Mackerel

Saba (mackerel) is a migratory fish of the genus Scomber in the family Scombridae; its English name is Mackerel. In the seas around Japan, two species, the chub mackerel (ma-saba) and the blue mackerel (goma-saba), are widely distributed, and around the Nansei Islands the Indian mackerel (gurukuma) and the double-lined mackerel (nijo-saba) can also be found.

As a sushi topping it is regarded as the foremost of the silver-skinned fish (hikari-mono), and the standard style is to make it into shime-saba (vinegar-cured mackerel) and form it into nigiri. It has also long been enjoyed in pressed-sushi forms such as saba-zushi and grilled-mackerel sushi (yaki-saba-zushi). On the Pacific side, the "autumn mackerel" (aki-saba) that gains fat in autumn is prized, and in the waters around Kyushu the winter "cold mackerel" (kan-saba) is prized. During the period when it heads south toward the spawning season, the fat spreads throughout the body and the flavor is said to stand out.

In terms of nutrition, it draws attention for being rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA. On the other hand, as the saying "saba no iki-gusare" (mackerel rots while still alive) indicates, the speed of freshness decline is extremely fast. Because it is a fish containing large amounts of histidine, if temperature control is lax, histamine is produced and can cause food poisoning. Since histamine is not detoxified even by heat treatment, strict freshness management throughout distribution and storage is required.

There is also a risk of Anisakis parasites, and since the parasites do not die from vinegar's acid treatment, caution is needed. Brand mackerel exist in various regions, such as the Seki-saba of the Bungo Channel, the Matsuwa-saba of Miura City, and the Kubiore-saba of Yakushima, and with improvements in freshness-management technology, the number of production areas serving it as sashimi is also increasing.