What is kanzuri? Chili peppers laid out on snow, a fermented seasoning found only in Myoko

Midwinter in Myoko. There is a sight here of bright red chili peppers scattered in dots across an unbroken field of snow.

To anyone seeing it for the first time it looks like a riddle, but this is yukizarashi, snow exposure, one step in a way of making seasoning that belongs to this place. The chilies on the snow will become a fermented seasoning called kanzuri.

Why lay them out on snow

Making kanzuri starts by scattering salted chili peppers across midwinter snow.

Several days out on the snow are said to draw off the chilies' harshness and their excess salt, take the edge off the heat and bring the sweetness forward. It is know-how from before refrigerators existed, using snow as a tool. Without Myoko, one of the heaviest snowfall areas in Japan, the method does not work at all.

The chilies dug back out of the snow are brewed with koji (the fermentation culture Aspergillus oryzae), yuzu and salt, and from there they go into 3 years or more of fermentation and aging. The ingredients are just these four things.

How it differs from yuzu kosho: a rounded heat built by fermentation

Chili and yuzu together will remind plenty of people of yuzu kosho from Kyushu.

If yuzu kosho is a fresh condiment of raw green chili and yuzu peel bound with salt, kanzuri is a seasoning of fermentation. Over 3 years the koji does its work, and behind the heat, a deep savoriness and sweetness with something of miso about it fold in layer by layer. Not a sharp jab of heat but a rounded heat that spreads slowly. A condiment that also does the job of a dashi: that is the odd thing about kanzuri.

Kanzuri, aged 3 years: one jar from Myoko

The maker keeping this seasoning alive is the company "Kanzuri" of Myoko. That the company name is also the product name says a good deal about how deeply it is tied to the food culture of this place.

Their flagship "Kanzuri, aged 3 years" is a jar that has gone through the same steps as ever, from snow exposure to fermentation. It turns the local condition of heavy snow directly into flavor, and there is no other chili seasoning like it in Japan.

How to enjoy kanzuri

• The definitive hot pot condiment. It goes well with simmered tofu, mizutaki and kiritanpo nabe
• Stir it into miso soup or ramen to add heat along with the savoriness of fermentation
• Serve it with yakitori or grilled meat in place of wasabi or mustard
• A little on sashimi. It suits oily fish such as yellowtail especially
• As a hidden note in pasta or peperoncino

Start with the hot pot. Stir a very little into ponzu and three years of snow-country time joins you in the bowl.

Frequently asked questions

What is kanzuri?

A fermented chili seasoning handed down in Myoko City, Niigata Prefecture. Salted chili peppers are laid out on midwinter snow to draw out their harshness, then fermented and aged for 3 years or more together with koji, yuzu and salt. The ingredients are just four things: chili, koji, yuzu and salt.

Why are the chilies laid out on snow?

The step is called yukizarashi, snow exposure. Leaving the chilies on the snow for several days is said to draw out their harshness and some of the salt, softening the heat and bringing the sweetness forward. It is a piece of snow-country know-how that could only have come from Myoko, one of the heaviest snowfall areas in the country.

What is the difference between kanzuri and yuzu kosho?

Both use chili and yuzu, but yuzu kosho is a fresh condiment made by combining raw chili and yuzu peel with salt, while kanzuri ferments snow-exposed chilies with koji for 3 years or more. Savoriness from the fermentation and a rounded heat are what kanzuri is about.