August 24, 2017

Uni in a Milk Bottle/牛乳瓶入りのウニ

Uni is a Japanese word for sea urchin or sea urchin gonad.
ウニとは、sea urchinやsea urchinの性腺、生殖腺のことです。

I learned about uni in a milk bottle from Yamako Katagiri Sengyo Ten, a fishmonger located in Kamaishi city, Iwate prefecture, back in 2009, as I described here. My family had the uni as toppings for nigiri sushi like this. At that time, I vaguely assumed that selling uni in such a unique style was the fishmonger's idea.
牛乳瓶入りのウニについては、ここに書いたように、2009年に岩手県釜石市にある鮮魚店、「ヤマコー片桐鮮魚店」さんから知りました。そのウニはここに書いたように、家族でに握り寿司のネタとして食べました。その頃は、このユニークなウニの売り方はこの鮮魚店のアイディアなのかなあと漠然と思っていました。

The August 10, 2017 edition of the famous TV show, Himitsu no Kenmin Show, which featured uni in a milk bottle, has clarified everything about this product. You can still watch this edition of the show by clicking dailymotion video, although it has no subtitles in English.
2017年8月10日のテレビ番組「秘密のケンミンSHOW!」は、牛乳瓶入りのウニを取り上げており、これで、このウニに関してすべて明らかになりました。dailymotion videoをクリックすれば、その番組を見ることができます(英語の字幕はありませんが)。

Here are some bits of information that I have learned from the edition:
その番組で知ったことをいくつか紹介します。

It is said that putting fresh uni in a milk bottle started in Yamada machi (town), Iwate prefecture about 50 years ago. Before then, uni were sold in bags to customers nearby. To deliver them to distant customers, a more sturdy container was necessary. One day, a certain uni shop put uni in an empty milk bottle that happened to be there. Uni in a milk bottle has become popular throughout Iwate prefecture ever since because the milk bottle can be tightly sealed, keeps the uni from disintegrating during transport, and is transparent, making the uni look beautiful.
生ウニを牛乳瓶に入れるのは、岩手県の山田町で約50年前に始まったと言われています。それまでは、ウニは袋入りで近場で売られていたが、遠くに出荷するにはもっとしっかりした容器が必要でした。ある時、とあるウニ屋が、たまたまあった牛乳の空き瓶にウニを入れ、その後、岩手県各地に広まったそうです。牛乳瓶は、密閉できる、運搬中に身が崩れるのを防げる、透明でウニがきれいに見えるそうです。

Uni in a milk bottle are additive free. To have uni in a milk bottle, you need not use soy sauce for seasoning, because the bottle contains sterile seawater, which makes the uni taste sweeter to the taste buds. (Before having the uni, I drained them. I should have done that!)
牛乳瓶入りのウニは無添加です。牛乳瓶入りのウニを食べるのに、しょう油は要りません。瓶には殺菌した海水が入っていて、それでウニがより甘く感じられます。(私は食べる前に海水を切ってしまいました!)

Uni arranged neatly in a wooden container are called ita uni. Usually, alum is used to keep such uni from disintegrating.
木製の容器にきれいに並んだウニは板ウニと呼ばれ、通常、身が崩れるのを防ぐためミョウバンが使われています。
Images of ita uni/板ウニのイメージ

One milk bottle can contain about 30 large pieces (gonads) or 50 small ones. Kita murasaki uni (Northern sea urchin) is a popular variety in Iwate prefecture.
牛乳瓶一本に、大きいウニなら30粒(生殖腺)、小さいウニなら50粒入るそうです。岩手県では、キタムラサキウニが一般的だそうです。

In Iwate prefecture, uni is called kaze.
岩手県では、ウニは「かぜ」と呼ばれているそうです。

***
My father's birthday is in late August, when uni are not in season. I was thinking about presenting him some cheap uni imported from Chile, available from a local supermarket, just when I received an email from Yamako Katagiri Sengyo Ten, saying that they would get uni after a long interval. I immediately placed an order for two bottles. They have arrived today.
父の誕生日は8月下旬で、ウニは旬ではありません。父には、地元のスーパーで買えるチリ産の安いウニを贈ろうかと思っていたのですが、ちょうどその時、ヤマコー片桐鮮魚店さんから、ウニが久しぶりに入荷するというメールを頂きました。すぐにウニを二瓶(ふたびん)注文しました。今日届きました。



Great present for my father's 89th birthday!
父の89歳の誕生日へのすごいプレゼントです!

Edited to add some photos on Aug. 27:
8/27、写真を追加:

On the morning of August 25, my father had half the uni in one bottle for breakfast, with vinegared rice. Here is a photo of the remaining half.
8/25の朝、父は朝食に一瓶の半分のウニを酢飯と一緒に食べました。残りの半分の写真です。
He had the remaining half for lunch the same day.
残りの半分は同じ日の昼食に食べました。

The expiration date of the uni was August 27. Here is a photo of the uni in the other milk bottle on the morning of August 27.
ウニの賞味期限は8/27でした。8/27の朝の、もう一つの牛乳瓶入りのウニの写真です。
 
Just like he did with the first bottle, my father had the half of it for breakfast with vinegared rice.
最初の瓶と同様、父は半分を朝食に酢飯と一緒に食べました。

7 comments:

Amy said...

The uni looks just beautiful. It'll be a special treat, I'm sure! How long will the uni stay fresh in the milk bottle?

Khash said...

What a cool idea. I showed this to my wife and she loved it too.

And an early happy 89th to your father!

Hiroyuki said...

Amy and Khash: Thank you both for your respective comments.

I'm not sure how long the unit will stay fresh in the milk bottle, but considering the shipping date (Aug. 23) and the expiration date (Aug. 27), I'd say 5-7 days.

This morning, I made vinegared rice. (My father likes to have uni with vinegared rice.) He had half the uni in one bottle. (I had assumed that even a single bottle was not enough for him.) Naturally, he liked the uni very much.

Yangsze said...

Wow, this looks amazingly delicious! Happy birthday to your dad, and how thoughtful of you to get him such a nice present!

Hiroyuki said...

Yangsz: Thank you for your kind words!

Anonymous said...

Lucky father!
-helenjp

Hiroyuki said...

helenjp: Yes, very lucky indeed, particularly because my mother and I are not big fans of uni, and he had the uni all by himself.