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Apr. 2016 issue No.148
Mink whale unesu slice
In March this year, was blessed with the opportunity to deal with raw mink whale in some place.
Although not seen directly minke whale itself, there is a contact between the landed contains the total length of about 5 meters minke whale to fixed net of the location of the Nagasaki Prefecture, and the next day, in a part that has been the dismantling relationship partners have been sent in, I had the opportunity to its commercialization.
This image is sent in an ice water are minke whales, are those of immediately after opening the lid, the contents of which lean meat 11kg, Unesu4kg, white leather 3.4kg, black leather 4kg, in the stomach 4kg, the total weight is 26 a .4kg, this seems to be only a fraction of the caught minke whale.
Although I think it is not most people with the question of what kind of whale and minke whale, because the author is also not seen the original figure in this eye, that there is no only eventually rely on the literature and materials, to sudden or It was supposed to be studying for the whale.
Minke whales seems to be this kind of size and shape.
Compared with the size of the the human that are drawn to the illustrations, but I think not to be able to imagine its size, the size thing is that the total length 8m, become about weight 8t.
In this size, minke whale is the relatively small size of the class rather than larger as whales, other whales there are illustrations that can understand what size.
Whales are the are 87 types in the sea of the world, dolphin is also a fellow of the same whale, body length whale more than 4m, are distinguished called the dolphin it less, whale depicted in this illustration is the main type known relatively well.
This illustration is described in the "whaling in the West Sea," which has been featured in FUKUOKA STYLE of Vol.12 that Fkuhaku comprehensive printing was issued in October 1995 in Fukuoka City.
Left image above is a quarterly magazine "FUKUOKA STYLE" Vol.12, other author in order to learn about whale cuisine, Ms. Mutsuko Onishi has authored "Tokuke secret whale cuisine", and even authored Mr. Masayuki Komatsu to buy a book such as "food culture of whale in Japan", and these materials to the reference of the website description.
These books, history and cuisine of the whale, and international environment, have been marked with a valuable opinion from various points of view, knowledge of the whale is able to absorb a considerable wide range of content just this three books.
Author describes what this time, or to absorb the facts described in those books, are affected the opinions expressed. And that it is written in there to interpret in my own way, including such as the commercialization practices in their own experience and field, it is summarized as one of the form.
In location of Nagasaki Prefecture, minke whale, which is bycatch in fixed net are to be living about 76 million head in the sea of the world, the number is stretched out also continues to grow more and more power now, there is at the same baleen whales Blue whales and fin whales, lost the competition for survival of the minke whale in the competition for food, have been said to have also become a remote cause that does not increase the populations, minke whales is like a relatively large force among whales.
At the International Whaling Commission in 1982 (IWC), "commercial whaling moratorium (pause)" was adopted, no longer able to commercial whaling for 15 types of whales that IWC has specified. And then, whales are supposed to continue to extend the populations. This minke whale has been caught entering wander to fixed net rather than the commercial whaling to be captured by the harpoon, rather than a moratorium violation by being "treated as a bycatch", nothing to be sold in retail stores guilty It will not be a thought.
The whales can be supplied to legally market as whale meat, "due to the scientific whaling" in addition to the bycatch in fixed net have been observed. The example of the Minato newspaper 2016 March 25 issue of the below article, for Nisshinmaru you return to port in Shimonoseki fishing port the day before the 24 days, the research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean has been written that was well, in that article together with the capture survey results that the breeding status of minke whales is a healthy level in the Antarctic, by the method of the visual survey, humpback whale resources the amount of the total populations had been reduced to 3,000 whales in the past there has been a rapid recovery it has also been reported.
The following table is a whale discovery group head count of the total search distance 5,272 nautical miles by four ships of the research vessel over 115 days from December 1 last year. "Visual specialty vessels and a total of about 9,763km of visual collection vessels, including a visual survey of the round-trip voyage"
Minke whales that have been captured by the scientific whaling is divided into a commercial frame for public frame and the general consumer for school meals by the hands of the Institute of Cetacean Research, and for those of the general consumer, the country It is sold to a central wholesale market and the general company
But it is sold in the form of a tender for the commercial frame, since the last sold price is supposed to be not publicly, any portion is how much, it is not possible to know it is going on, past cases in such unpopular Bryde's whales are unsold, it seems to have a hard time disposal.
In other words, in this time of scientific whaling, the thing that was brought back to capture the minke whale 333 whales, if a minke whale which is popular as a good taste among the whale, a possibility that remain unsold are working is the judgment of the few It is considered or not.
Kind of Japanese have been eating mainly to this whale is, in order from the length large, fin whale, sei whale, sperm whale, Bryde's, minke whale, Baird's beaked whale, long-finned pilot whale whale, Risso's dolphin whale, which is eight. Among these whales, what is a relatively tasty seems fellow of baleen whales.
The baleen whales, the gums of part of the upper jaw is changed to beard, it has a structure that prey only the food, such as krill is passed through the water in the beard. As the kind, blue whale, fin whale, sei whale, Bryde's, minke whale, Baird's beaked whale, humpback whales, right whales, gray whales, and the like.
Left minke whale beard, the right of the sei whale beard (Hirado, Nagasaki ikitsuki museum "Island of the House" exhibition)
On the other hand, fellow of the tooth whale has teeth, such as pilot whales and sperm whales, a whale to eat, such as the mainly squid and mackerel and sardines. For example, sperm whales seemed to large organisms bait such as giant squid diving into the deep sea, to have also such kind attacking seals like a killer whale, also smart and dolphin also is a fellow of the tooth whale to the agile movement . Faster speed to swim like a dolphin, a fellow of the tooth whale muscles are tight is as inferior in terms of taste when compared to the baleen whales for meat is hard of.
This time the author, was supposed to be dealing with the minke whale is the most kind of taste is good baleen in the whale, of course the author is not the first time that dealing with the whale, the portions of many whales in the past, raw, boil, salted, sometimes ate in such.
Since I was 40 years ago is still the commercial whaling moratorium previous era went into the world to deal with this marine products, the price of whale was also scolded very cheap. Anyhow as the material of practice to learn how to move the sashimi knife around I was a new employee, it was the age, such as to use the popular Unesu as luxury portions even now in the whale meat.
Well, because I think that some people do not know that either Unesu any sites of the whale and the whale portions diagram has been placed on the whale shop Hakuei industry's website, located in Fukuoka 1975 founding, to utilize as reference material for the purpose of explanation to everyone.
The Unesu, over the abdomen from the lower jaw, is the fat part of which is in stripes of folds, is that the site Une was together are fat part of subcutaneous with Sunoko and the folds of the portion of red meat.
As described above, because I was able to deal with live the Unesu of minke whales that have been bycatch in fixed net of Nagasaki, trying to introduce the process below.
| Commercialization process of the minke whale Unesu | |
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| 1、Part of red meat, called the Sunoko of Unesu | 5、Cross-section disconnect the Unesu |
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| 2、White fat of under gridiron, and stripe-formed section of Une | 6、In raw, commercialized Unesu block of about 10cm width |
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| 3、The surface of the skin side Une | 7、To boil the Unesu along with other black leather or white leather |
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| 4、Une groove four of width, the length cut off at 30 cm | 8、Since boiled, slightly discolored, deformed Unesu |
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| 10、The Unesu that boiled thinly sliced, was commercialized with this | |
In Hakuei Sangyo Co., but seems to have been selling the raw Unesu of flow whale at 1,800 yen / 100g, raw Unesu of this minke whales because the purchase price was 5,650 yen / kg, in the 150g of about block, selling price and it is sold at 980 yen / 100g.
Black leather and white leather that arrived at the same time, because neither was a purchase price of 3,000 yen / kg, was commercialized in the raw block and boil of the slice as follows.
| Commercialization process of the white leather and black leather of minke whale | |
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| 1、leather-side surface of the white leather | 1、leather-side surface of the black leather |
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| 2、Cross-section of the white leather | 2、The inside of the black leather |
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| 3、The inside of the white leather | 3、To remove the streak-like white part on the inside of the black leather |
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| 4、Divide the width of about 30 cm | 4、Divide the width of about 30 cm |
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| 5、Cut into strips of 3 cm width | ５、Cut into strips of 3 cm width |
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| ６、Commercialize a block of white leather | ６、Commercialize a block of black leather |
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| 7、Boiling water to put the salt of about 3%, and cook for about 15 minutes | |
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| ８、Boiled white leather | 8、Boiled black leather |
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| 9、White leather is commercialized for the ginger soy sauce and sliced to a thickness of from 3g about 5g, black leather is to commercialize for boiled and seasoned in a thickness of 10g~15g | |
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| White leather boil slice | Black leather boil slice |
These products have been been given the selling price, such as the following display in the fish department.
It can be seen when compared to the products that are sold on the net shop, but this selling price is considerably cost performance is high in this volume. I think moreover freshness for raw whale of freshly caught the day before rather than frozen whale meat is also excellent, customer satisfaction that have purchased these products to visit this day that it was equivalent to high.
Now it's time of lean meat commercialization, but when proceeding in this state, because the first page is too long, by changing the page, will continue to try to be referred for the whale.
Continued on next page
An opinion and the communication are to iinfo@fish food times
Date of updating Apr.1, 2016
