Sushi chefs are very important people. They slave away making one of the worlds most delectable and tasty foods. They supply the world with wonderful sushi! Some may believe, and they are very doltish to do this, that making sushi is a simple task and serves no real purpose. They are gravely mistaken.
             Sushi is many years old. It originated in the 7th century as a way to preserve fish. The fish would me dried and packed with vinegared rice. The fish fermented the rice which made a lactic acid and that caused pickling. The word Nare-Sushi is a 1300 year old word that is used for the fish made from this method. This method could take from two months to a year to produce.
             Between the 15th and 16th century faster methods were created. This was called Nama-Nare. Not only was it faster but it also included the rice as part of the meal.
             In the 1820's, Hanaya Yohei, an inhabitant of Edo, now Tokyo, introduced a recipe that is very similar to sushi today. He would take Sashimi, raw fish, and place it on finger shaped bits of vinegar rice. He would sell this dish, now called Nigiri-Sushi, fresh from his mobile cart.
             There are many different forms of sushi. The most common is Nigiri-Sushi. It is a vinegared rice covered by a slice of raw or cooked fish. Nigiri means "to grip" and is used because the sushi is gripped in the hand to form its shape (See figure 1). The form most pictured when the word sushi is said, is Maki-Sushi. This type is rolled. A sheet of Nori (seaweed) is placed down and vinegared rice is put on top of that. Then the other ingredients, such as raw or cooked fish and/or vegetables, are placed on top of that. It is then rolled and cut. The word Maki means roll (See figure 2). Another tasty sushi is Chirashi-Sushi. This is vinegared rice packed into a bowl and covered with whatever you want! Chirashi means "scatted" because the ingredients are scatted all over t...