California roll
A California roll is a makizushi, a kind of sushi roll, usually made inside-out, containing cucumber, crab meat or imitation crab, and avocado. In some countries it is made with mango or banana instead of avocado. Sometimes crab salad is substituted for the crab stick, and often the outer layer of rice in an inside-out roll (ura-maki) is sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, tobiko or masago.
As one of the most popular styles of sushi in the US market, the California roll has been influential in sushi's global popularity and in inspiring sushi chefs around the world in creating their non-traditional fusion cuisine.[1]
History
The California roll may or may not have been derived from the Tojo-maki roll created in Vancouver, Canada by Chef Hidekazu Tojo, in an effort to get his local clientele to enjoy sushi. Chef Tojo moved to Vancouver in August 1971 from Japan. He realized that seaweed turned off Vancouverites, so he turned the roll inside out to hide it. Many visitors from Los Angeles came into his restaurant and enjoyed the new sushi roll, and the name California roll was given.[2] It spread throughout the world.
The widely accepted version of the invention of the California roll is attributed to Ichiro Mashita, a sushi chef in Los Angeles. He began substituting avocado for toro (fatty tuna), and after further experimentation, the California roll was born in the 60s.[3] (The date is often given as the early 1970s in other sources.)[4][5][6] Mashita realized the oily texture of avocado was a perfect substitute for toro.[4] Traditionally sushi rolls are wrapped with nori on the outside. But Mashita also eventually made the roll "inside-out", i.e. uramaki, because Americans did not like seeing and chewing the nori on the outside of the roll.[4]
After becoming a favorite in Southern California it eventually became popular all across the United States by the 1980s. The roll contributed to sushi's growing popularity in the United States by easing diners into more exotic sushi options.[7] Sushi chefs have since devised many kinds of rolls, beyond simple variations of the California roll.
See also
- Police term - "California Roll" is a term used by police to describe an automobile that doesn't come to a complete and full stop at a traffic signal. This term is also used when an officer needs a reason to stop an automobile when there is a suspicion of illegal activity, but no truthful or legal reason for a stop. This in and of itself is illegal in most states within the United States.
- Food portal
References
- ↑ Renton, Alex (2006-02-26). "How Sushi ate the World". The Guardian. Retrieved 2006-08-20.
- ↑ Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/meet-the-man-behind-the-california-roll/article4631256/. Retrieved 21 June 2015. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Raw". New York Times. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- 1 2 3 Hunt, Maria (2005-08-24). "East-West Fusion: nontraditional ingredients give sushi local flavor". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2006-08-20.
- ↑ Lynne Olver. "History of the California roll with various early recipes and references". Foodtimeline.org. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
- ↑ "Some further info on Mashita and the original California roll". Thesushibar.com. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
- ↑ Kestler, John (2006-06-18). "The Sushification of America". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.