You don't know the standards for Uonuma-produced Yatsuyahime, do you?
November 10, 2021
Perhaps because people are spending more time at home, high-quality rice is selling well in Japan.
Along with Koshihikari from Uonuma, Tsuyahime is now considered the best Japanese rice variety, but perhaps because of this, its wholesale price has risen.
We apologize, but we will be raising the price a little from the selling price of new rice.
Shin Uonuma
There are many Uonuma products on the market, but like the Mona Lisa, most of them are fakes.
Anyone who has ridden the Joetsu Shinkansen will know that the rice from Minamiuonuma County, located on the border between Nagano, Niigata, and Gunma prefectures, is authentic.
To be more specific, the area is at the foot of Mount Hakkai, including Minami-Uonuma City, Tokamachi, Yuzawa Town, and Tsunan Town. It's deep in the mountains, where there's a ski resort.
On the other hand, Uonuma produce, a municipality that was merged into Uonuma City during the Heisei Great Merger, is priced completely differently from Niigata produce.
This is a flat area with little temperature difference, so the production conditions are different from the real thing.
For now, it's best to avoid products from Uonuma that are simply labeled "Made in Uonuma" without any differentiation .
"Ours is from Uonuma."
If a neighbor casually asks you, "So, where in Uonuma is that?"
Shin Tsuyahime
It can only be produced by certified producers in Yamagata Prefecture, and only rice with a protein content of 6.8% or less can be called "Yamagata-grown, specially cultivated rice Tsuyahime."
There are many "Tsuyahime" varieties on the market that do not meet the standards, but if they are labeled as "Yamagata-grown, specially cultivated rice" like ours, then they are probably fine.
Amazingly, even selling Tsuyahime requires permission from Yamagata Prefecture. To be precise, permission is required to use the brand. After all, it is a brand that the prefecture's fortunes are on.
The above is a reference for choosing rice.