Kanzuri is a traditional fermented chile paste that is exclusively produced in Myoko in Japan's Niigata Prefecture by the Tojo family. Before the family started selling the condiment in 1966, it was only made in small batches for household use. Today, a six-year-aged 2.5-ounce bottle sells for almost $20.
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00:00Four neat rows of red dots cover this remote, snow-covered area of Japan.
00:07Zoom in and you'll see they're actually chili peppers.
00:12This is snow bleaching.
00:14It's a major reason for Kanzuri chili paste's unique taste.
00:19After a six-year-long process, this small bottle costs nearly $20, much more than the
00:26$3 price of mass-produced chili pastes seven times the size.
00:32But there's a problem on the horizon.
00:34Warmer winters have made it difficult to find enough snow.
00:38And the only company making the paste says it can't and won't skip this step, threatening
00:44the future of Kanzuri.
00:56So, does bleaching these peppers in snow really change the flavor?
01:06And is the struggle to find snow why Kanzuri chili paste is so expensive?
01:26That taste is, in large part, thanks to snow bleaching, according to the producer.
01:41Atsushi buys Kanzuri made by the only company in the world that produces it, Kanzuri Company,
01:48in Myoko, in Japan's Niigata prefecture.
01:52That's where Kanzuri originated.
02:12Snow bleaching is imperative to the final taste and quality, so Akihito is willing to
02:17go to great lengths to make it happen.
02:22Upon arriving at the ski resort, the team gets to work immediately.
02:28This is the nearest place Akihito could find that had at least 50 centimeters of accumulated
02:34snow.
02:36They first have to step on the snow to compact it, but it can't get thinner than 20 centimeters.
02:44This thick snow is essential.
02:47If the weather gets warmer before the chili peppers are ready, the compacted snow will
02:51ensure the peppers don't get mixed in with the soil below.
02:55Otherwise, they will be contaminated and unusable.
03:17This net both reinforces the separation and guarantees no pepper is left behind when they're
03:23collected three or four days later.
03:26Today, the team is bleaching about 300 kilograms of chili peppers.
03:33They were pickled in salt from summer until the winter months.
03:59Akihito's snow bleached the peppers about 10 times a year and only in the winter months.
04:06This restricts production further and makes the final bottle of Kanzuri more expensive
04:11than mass-produced chili pastes.
04:17And producing the actual paste takes years.
04:22At Kanzuri's factory, Sato Kazushige is making a new batch from today's harvest.
04:30Kanzuri paste is made with four simple ingredients.
04:35Snow bleached chili peppers, yuzu, salt, and rice goji.
04:43To start, the bleached peppers are mixed with rice goji, rice inoculated with fungus that
04:49is usually fermented for about two days.
05:03The other important ingredient is freshly made yuzu paste.
05:20When all the ingredients are mixed in, Kazushige stores this fresh Kanzuri in the warehouse.
05:29There, 600 tubs, each filled with 350 kilograms of paste, are aging.
05:39It must be aged for at least three years and the most expensive Kanzuri for six.
05:46Many simpler chili pastes, on the other hand, are fermented for just one to two weeks.
05:52Locally, a small bottle of Kanzuri paste aged for three years costs $6.
05:59Six-year-aged paste costs $9.
06:03And exported, it's more than double the price.
06:07The aging process has a dramatic impact on the appearance and flavor.
06:22The first year's Kanzuri is not yet used to Kanzuri paste.
06:29The taste of Kanzuri and salt stands out.
06:35As time goes by, the saltiness of the Kanzuri is removed and the Kanzuri becomes pure and mild.
06:42The fermentation increases the umami.
06:46The more the Kanzuri is aged, the saltier the Kanzuri and the spicier the Kanzuri becomes.
06:57Kazushige has to check each container of Kanzuri at specific times.
07:04Exactly one year after the Kanzuri is made, it must be stirred to encourage the fermentation
07:10and to ensure it hasn't gone rancid.
07:14Otherwise, Kazushige has to discard the entire tub.
07:19Even the exact location where the Kanzuri is stored can impact the success of the fermentation.
07:37To balance all these variables and guarantee the quality of the final bottle,
07:42Kazushige checks the color against this chart.
07:46If the Kanzuri is within range of these six shades, it's ready to sell.
07:52Apart from some mechanization, this process is true to the original Kanzuri-making method.
07:59Before Akihito's grandfather, Tojo Kuniji, started Kanzuri Company,
08:03each household made Kanzuri its own way.
08:12The key to Kanzuri was to make it simpler and easier to get used to
08:19than to make it complicated by adding a lot of ingredients.
08:24To create a Kanzuri that is easy to get used to,
08:28we started with the Shokyo method.
08:31In the end, it became a Kanzuri with only four ingredients,
08:35chili pepper, Komekoji, Yuzu, and Shokuen.
08:42And the once-humble Myoko household condiment has reached international fame.
09:06However, when he uses it for meat dishes, it can reduce any unpleasant smells
09:11and an overly fatty taste.
09:30Only 200,000 tiny bottles of Kanzuri are made every year.
09:36But today's struggle to find a deep enough snowy plain
09:39will likely continue to impact the next generation of Kanzuri makers.
09:45In January and February 2024,
09:47Niigata Prefecture saw only 25 centimeters of snow,
09:52down from 93 centimeters in 2023.
09:56In 2020, hardly any snow fell,
09:59and snowfall over the last seven decades has generally been on the decline.
10:06This fluctuation means Akito can't rely on enough snow to bleach the peppers.
10:12Finding reliable land is a problem for producers
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10:24a pricey unrefined sugar,
10:26have moved to higher and higher altitudes to make the product.
10:30And that means they have to walk further to sell it.
10:35Droughts in Kashmir have left fields yielding significantly less saffron,
10:39the most expensive spice on the market.
10:43Fewer viable fields mean some producers are forced to sell their land.
10:49In Spain, warmer waters are pushing baby eel fishers
10:53to change shores more frequently so they can catch enough to sell.
11:06So too in Niigata, where Akito will have to continue searching for the right location,
11:12making production, and in turn the bottle of kanzuri, more costly.
11:17However, he isn't giving up on snow bleaching,
11:20because it wouldn't be a traditional Niigata kanzuri without it,
11:25especially since demand for the paste has grown 20% in the last 20 years.
11:33Finding enough snow is the first problem.
11:36Another is having enough peppers.
11:39Kanzuri is made from the local togarashi pepper.
11:43There were once 30 farmers supplying the company with these peppers.
11:47Now, Akito says only 4-5 remain.
11:52He says the company may soon have to grow every pepper in-house.
11:57Importing them, although cheaper, is not an option for Akito,
12:01who says kanzuri wouldn't taste the same without togarashi peppers from this region.