【Reading】ほんなれ

【English Name】Hon-nare (Fully Fermented Sushi)

Honnare is a term indicating a fermentation stage of narezushi, referring to a state in which fish has been pickled with salt and rice for a long period and lactic-acid fermentation has fully progressed. It is an old form of sushi in which the rice melts and liquefies to the point of losing its original form, and only the fish flesh is eaten.

In contrast, what is eaten at a shallow stage of fermentation is called "namanare," in which the rice is also savored together. The appearance of namanare is said to have created the flow that later led to modern nigiri sushi using vinegared rice.

A representative example of honnare is funa-zushi made around Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture. Using fish such as nigorobuna (a crucian carp), it is pickled for several months to several years. It is characterized by strong sourness and a distinctive fermented smell, and is also a food on which tastes are divided.

Narezushi is thought to have already existed in the Nara period, and honnare can be called a method that is the very origin of sushi culture in Japan. Today, besides Shiga Prefecture, it continues to be made traditionally in some areas such as Wakayama Prefecture and Ishikawa Prefecture.