[November] Making horse chestnut rice cakes: Traditions passed down in a small community (4K UHD)

A deep forest in the middle of nowhere. A cluster of horse chestnut trees grows in a place up a steep stream.
At the end of September, many horse chestnut trees drop their nuts. Villagers go into the mountains early in the morning to pick up horse chestnuts that have fallen over a wide area in the stream. When the brown rind is cracked open, a five-centimeter-sized horse chestnut peeks out. The plump, round, and shiny black horse chestnuts remind us of the power of nature.
The strong astringent taste of the horse chestnut requires a lot of time and effort before it is ready to eat. First, they must be dried thoroughly. Wait for the winter, when bacteria are less active. Soak the horse chestnut and peel off the hard skin. Soak in water for a week to remove the scum. Pour lye over them to further remove the scum. Pouring hardwood ashes over the skin to further remove the scum.
The people who gather to do the many tasks involved in making Tochimochi learn better methods from their elders. In this way, the experience and knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation in the region is connected from person to person in an ongoing process.
One Tochimochi rice cake costs several hundred yen. Although the proprietress says, "I am not good at counting the money," the value of a single rice cake, which is filled with a lot of labor and wisdom passed down from generation to generation, cannot be measured by the amount of money.
Every time you bite into one, the savory aroma and natural sweetness fills your mouth.
The following is a report on the daily life of the Mitakien Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand Restaurant in Chizu-cho, Tottori Prefecture.
Cooperation: Mitakien
Video: Nobuaki Murakami
Title: geeekman
Music: X[iksa]
Planning: Yu Kawanaka
#JapaneseFood #CountrysideLiving #TraditionalRecipes #RusticCooking #RemoveScum