Early November, I made a visit to Sho Farm. The farm which I had my bi-weekly organic veggies delivered to my house. Visiting Sho farm was in my bucket list since I moved to Kanazawaku, Yokohama. The purpose of the visit was that they were asking for some help for prepping hot chili pepper for Yuzu sauce (Yuzu Kosho) and drying the persimmon to make Hoshi-Gaki. Both are seasonal preservative in Japan and I never tried making them before so I wanted to give it a try. Plus the farmer always encouraged us to visit their farm so we get to know each other. Their ideal relationship is not just a buyer and seller but a more close networking of the like minded people. It was about an hour to get there, 2 train rides but was well worth the trip!

11月の上旬、念願だったSho Farmへ伺いました。野菜を定期的に購入しているため、一度は行ってみたかったし、この時、たまたま、畑でのお手伝いを募集していてて、加工品の下拵え的な内容だったので、私でも出来るかなと参加して見ましたが。作業内容は柚子胡椒に使う唐辛子の下拵えと柿酢、干し柿作り。柚子胡椒も干し柿も作った事がなかったので参加したいと思いましたし、一度は自分が日々食べている野菜が作られている環境、人達に会ってみたいなと。Sho Farmさんの方でも野菜を定期購入している方にはファームに来てもらいたいと言っていました。野菜を売り買いだけの関係ではなく、人と人として繋がった方がより良い関係が生まれると言う事ですね。

First thing we did in the morning was removing the green chili pepper from the stems. We were asked to wear a latex gloves because the chili can really burn your hands. We placed the Japanese grass woven mat in the middle of the farm and loads of chili were delivered to us. Once we got the hang of it the process was pretty easy. These chili will them pureed into a paste and combined with green Yuzu peels and salt to be fermented in a jar. The farmer told us to take some green chili leafs home to make a simple side dish.

電車を二つ乗り継いで、最寄りの駅で迎えに来てもらって、ファームにつくや、まずは唐辛子の作業からスタート。畑の真ん中に茣蓙をひいて、山盛りの唐辛子がど〜んと運ばれ、ひたすら、唐辛子を枝から取り分ける作業です。慣れてくると、サッサと唐辛子は枝からスッすっと外れ、この作業は１時間半ほどえ終了。

After we were done the the chilies, we took a mid morning break in the chicken farm. The new chicks just arrived around a week ago and they were really wild! The cage built for the chicks was so creative using recycled material. The owner told us that since the arrival of the chicks it was weeks of sleepless nights. They had to keep checking the temperature of the surrounding to see if the chicks are adapting with the environment. They are growing up strong and adapting to the environment so no need to worry much anymore.

その後、新しく出来た鳥小屋でお茶タイム。最近やってきたヒヨコ達がまぁ、元気なこと。ファームに来たての頃はヒヨコの成長が気になり、夜も眠れなかったのだそうです。まだ小さい動物ゆえ、朝晩の温度差でひよこ達の健康管理が大変だったとの事。でも、今はすくずく成長して元気に鳥小屋の中で走り回っていました。この小屋も廃材などを利用してシュタイナーの理論で作られたこだわりのもの。素敵でした。

After the break, we got a mini lecture on how to make Kaki-su, a persimmon vinegar. We divide the persimmon in two. One which are overly ripen and one which are still firm. The overly ripen one will be the ones to be made into Kaki-su. We slice the top part, the stem portion and discard it and half the fruit and put it in a large pot. The pot was quickly filled with loads of persimmon and we seal the pot with a lid. Keep it out in room tempt and that is about it. The persimmon will slowly ferment and turn into a sour liquid in about a month. The process is very easy and the only thing you have to keep in mind is that never wash the persimmon, the acetic acid bacteria and the yeast on the surface of the persimmon’s skin in the factor which make it into a vinegar. Wow, the wonders of nature and how perfect nature is.

お茶タイムが終了後、柿の作業に進みました、まずは熟れすぎた柿とそうで無いものを仕分け。柔らかいものは柿酢用にとヘタをとり、半分に切り、そのまま大きな容器へどんどん入れて行きました。大量に出来た柿酢様の柿はそのまま常温で保存すると１ヶ月ほどで柿酢の出来上がりです。この時のポイントは柿をけして洗わないことだとか。柿の皮に付着している酢酸菌や酵母菌の力で発酵を促していくためなんですって！凄い。シンプルイズベスト。先人の知恵って素晴らしい。

About a hour before lunch, we divided our team in two, one to go to the kitchen to prepare lunch and another to continue the persimmon processing. Once the prepping for the Kaki-su was done, we continued on making Hoshi-Kaki, drying sour persimmon for preserving it. We had loads of crisp persimmon and spent hours just peeling the skin off. We took a break off peeling the persimmon when the lunch was ready. We were served a plant based lunch of a bowl of miso soup, salad with apples and curry rice. We gathered around a large table and talked, introduced to other training staffs and some carpenter who was in farm fixing things. When the lunch was over, half of the helper left, ( some only came to help in the morning) and 3 of us was left to finish the process. After the peeling was done, the persimmons are lightly washed then sanitized by dipping it in Shochu (Japanese white liquor) . Each of them will be tied on a string to be hanged outdoor. The persimmons are not suppose to touch to each other but loosely hanged together. The drying process is the best when the temperature at night drops. The cool night air dries out the persimmon perfectly and once was a sour persimmon, when dried out in an air for about 1~2 weeks, turns into a really sweet treat. When the drying is done, these can be kept just like those dried fruits for a long time. Last of all, what happens to the peeled persimmon skin? They are dried and kept in the farm for pickling daikon radishes. The orange color dyes the daikon into beautiful yellow and I guess they add some flavor to it too.

お昼の１時間前にグループが二つに分かれ、ランチを作るチームと引き続き柿の作業チームに。柿の作業チームは山の様にある柿の皮をひたすら剥く班に。大小色々の柿をひたすら、手が痺れるまで剥きましたよ。市販の物と違い野生の柿ゆえ、小さいのが本当に大変でした。しばらくすると、お昼の準備ができ、ファームの傍らにある大きなテーブルに大勢と囲み賑やかにランチを楽しみましたた。インターンの方々の紹介、たまたまいた大工さん、年齢もバックグランドもバラバラな集団でしたが和やかで楽しいひとときでした。ランチ後、午前組が帰って行き、午後に残った私を含め３人で残りの柿をやっつける事に。更に１時間ほどひたすら皮を剥き、やっと終え、その後は、干す作業へ移行。皮を剥いた柿をサッと水で洗い、焼酎で表面を消毒したら、あとは紐に結び干すだけです。（作業に夢中すぎて写真を撮り忘れた！！）干す時のコツは柿同士がくっつかない様にすること位です。先日連絡が入り、美味しい干し柿が出来たよ〜って。10日位で完成だったのかな？（お天気にも恵まれましたし）ところで柿を剥いた時に出た皮のその後は？たくあんを漬ける時に漬けどこの下の方に入れるのだとか。その方が発色が綺麗になるらしいです。捨てるところがないですね。素晴らしいです。

Myself heading back home after a long day. 長い、長い、1日の帰り道。疲れたけど、楽しかった。

After I got home, I took care of the chili leafs. I washed them, dried them and removed the branches.　帰宅してまず行ったのが、いただいた唐辛子葉の下ごしらえ。葉っぱを洗い、葉と枝とわけ、枝を処分。その後、水気を切るためにザルに乗せてスタンバイ。

I then, pan fried with oil, sake, sugar and soy sauce and turned it into a simple condiment to go with the rice. The leafs was not spicy at all more of a fresh green taste. (I home this makes sense) I topped it on rice and made rice balls by mixing the leafs.

次の日の朝に菜種油とささっと炒め物。酒、砂糖と醤油で簡単な佃煮風に。爽やかな青い味とでも言うのですか？苦味があまりなく、暖かいご飯の上、おにぎりにしていただきました。

It was such a great experience, meeting new people & learning something new. Just being in countryside was very healing. I guess I enjoy these kind of activities much more than chilling at a cafe in the city.

いつもと違う所へ出向く事ってちょっと勇気が入りますが、そこには新たな人々との出会い、新たな学びがあると思います。都会から離れ、自然が多い所で過ごすだけでもずいぶん癒されました。私はきっと都会のカフェでチルするより、こう言ったところに行く方が合うのかもと思いました。