【Reading】きんかさば

【English Name】Kinka Mackerel

Kinka saba is a brand name for large chub mackerel (masaba) caught in the waters around Kinkasan off Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, and landed at the Ishinomaki fish market.

The waters off Sanriku are a rich fishing ground where the Kuroshio and Oyashio currents collide, and the netsuki (resident) mackerel that settle in these waters without migrating keep eating abundant prey and store up fat. Only fish meeting the standards set by the Kinka Brand Promotion Committee may bear this name, and they are a rare presence accounting for less than 10% of all mackerel landed at Ishinomaki Port.

The conditions for brand certification include being a high-freshness large chub mackerel with a fat content of 15% or more, with top-grade fish said to reach 25% or more (the fat ratio of ordinary mackerel is about 12%). Fishing methods are limited to set nets, pole-and-line, and purse seine. From November of 2010, serial numbers were added to the certification stickers, ensuring traceability.

The season is mainly around September to January; from early autumn after spawning the fish feed actively, and toward winter the flesh firms up as the water temperature drops. Despite being rich in fat, it has a clean taste with little of the odor characteristic of blue-backed fish. As a sushi topping it is often served as vinegar-cured mackerel (shime-saba) or seared (aburi). It can trade at 20,000-30,000 yen per kg when prices are high, and is dubbed the phantom mackerel.