Sesame

Dried anchovies. Also called tazukuri. After rinsing small anchovies, they are spread out on a mat and dried by turning them several times a day. Good anchovies are those with little oil, a silvery white surface, with intact heads and tails, and with their shape intact. Bad anchovies are those that are burnt or oozing oil. They are rich in protein (66.9%) and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus. They are lightly roasted and mixed with a liquid made by stewing soy sauce, mirin, or sugar, and used as a New Year's dish. Since "mame" (bean) means good health or "good luck," it is said that they were made into a New Year's dish in hopes of good health. The word tazukuri is said to have originated from the fact that using beans as fertilizer for rice fields increases the amount of rice produced, so farmers began eating them at New Year's in hopes of a good harvest.

[Kaneda Hisashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

カタクチイワシの素干し。田作りともいう。小形のカタクチイワシを水洗(すいせん)後、莚(むしろ)の上にばらまき、1日数回転がしながら干し上げる。油が少なく、体表面が銀白色に輝き、頭や尾がとれず、形が崩れていないものが良品。油焼けしたり、油のにじみ出たものは不良品である。タンパク質（66.9％）およびカルシウム、リンなどのミネラルに富む。軽くあぶり、しょうゆ、みりんまたは砂糖を煮込んだ液と混ぜ、正月料理に使う。「まめ」には息災とか「たっしゃ」という意味があるところから、健康を願って正月料理にされたという。また、田作りの語は、田の肥料に使うと米が多くとれるので、豊年満作を祈って農民が正月に食べ出したとされる。

［金田尚志］

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