Grows Sweeter in the Cold, ”Fukushi Takanori Shirakami negi”

2014.4.142019.4.22

Scallions Grown at the Foot of the World Heritage

The Shirakami mountains were designated Unesco World Heritage in 1993. These mountains spread out from the southwest in Aomori prefecture to the northwest in Akita prefecture. It was designated as world heritage, as it is an untouched primitive natural beech forest, the largest scale in the world. By the foot of this world heritage mainly in Noshiro-City, is a vegetable that is grown here. Currently it has become popular as a ”Shirakami brand”. There are other vegetables such as the Shirakami brand cabbage, myoga, udo, but this time around, we focused on the ”scallions”. Its quality has boosted along with its popularity and in 2012, the name ”Shiragami negi” applied for trademark registration.

Shirakami Negi – very strong sweetness

We talked to Takanori Fukushi, who won the grand prize of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award at the 135th Akita prefecture Seeds and Saplings Exchange Meet in the”negi” section. He had become a farmer 3 years ago after going back to his hometown. On his 2nd year last year, he astonishingly accomplished the feat of winning grand prize at the Exchange Meet on his first exhibit.The white negi. It is rather fat and so soft it looks as though it will melt in your mouth. However when you actually bite into it, you can enjoy the crunchiness of negi as well. One of its strongest features is its ”sweetness”. ”It becomes sweet because it grows tight in the cold climate.” Fukushi told us.

How to distinguish a good ”negi”

”Negi”scallions are supposed to be straight and long. ” If they do not meet these standards, prices have to be reduced. They can only be sold at direct sales stands (not retail).” says Fukushi. Nakata asks immediately, ” Does it affect the taste?” He replies with a laugh, ”That doesn’t change at all!”
We also asked how to distinguish a good ”negi” scallion from a bad one. We learn that there are 3 points. The white part should be long, the green part should be vivid green, and the entire vegetable should be shiny. These are the characteristics to look for.
Fukushi talks about how good soil is essential in growing good ”negi” scallions. The key is in the timing when the dirt is placed over the ”negi” and the amount of fertilizer. The effort put in to creating good soil and the natural environment of Noshiro make the sweet Shirakami ”negi”.