Iwata Kentaro, Fukuchi Takahiko, Yoshimura Kenichi
Division of Infectious Diseases Therapeutics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine.
Innovative Clinical Research Center (iCREK), Kanazawa University Hospital, Japan.
Clin Infect Dis. 2015 May 1;60(9):e43-8. doi: 10.1093/cid/civ057. Epub 2015 Feb 18.
Sushi is a traditional Japanese cuisine enjoyed worldwide. However, using raw fish to make sushi may pose risk of certain parasitic infections, such as anisakidosis, which is most reported in Japan. This risk of infection can be eliminated by freezing fish; however, Japanese people are hesitant to freeze fish because it is believed that freezing ruins sushi's taste.
A randomized double-blind trial with discrimination testing was conducted to examine the ability of Japanese individuals to distinguish between frozen and unfrozen sushi. A pair of mackerel and squid sushi, one once frozen and the other not, was provided to the participants, and they were asked to answer which one tasted better.
Among 120 rounds of discrimination testing involving the consumption of 240 pieces of mackerel sushi, unfrozen sushi was believed to taste better in 42.5% (51 dishes) of cases, frozen sushi was thought to taste better in 49.2% (59 dishes), and the participants felt the taste was the same in 8.3% (10 dishes). The odds ratio for selecting unfrozen sushi as "tastes better" over frozen sushi was 0.86 (95% confidence interval [CI], .59-1.26; P = .45). For squid, unfrozen sushi was believed to be superior 48.3% of the time (58 dishes), and frozen sushi, 35.0% of the time (42 dishes). They were felt to be the same in 16.7% (20 dishes) (odds ratio, 1.38; 95% CI, .93-2.05; P = .11).
Freezing raw fish did not ruin sushi's taste. These findings may encourage the practice of freezing fish before using it in sushi, helping to decrease the incidence of anisakidosis.
寿司是一种在全球广受欢迎的传统日本料理。然而，使用生鱼制作寿司可能会带来某些寄生虫感染的风险，比如异尖线虫病，这种疾病在日本的报告最为常见。通过冷冻鱼可以消除这种感染风险；然而，日本人对冷冻鱼有所顾虑，因为人们认为冷冻会破坏寿司的口感。
进行了一项带有辨别测试的随机双盲试验，以检验日本人区分冷冻和未冷冻寿司的能力。向参与者提供一对鲭鱼和鱿鱼寿司，其中一个曾被冷冻，另一个未被冷冻，要求他们回答哪个口感更好。
在涉及食用240片鲭鱼寿司的120轮辨别测试中，42.5%（51份）的情况下人们认为未冷冻的寿司口感更好，49.2%（59份）的情况下认为冷冻寿司口感更好，8.3%（10份）的情况下参与者觉得两者口感相同。选择未冷冻寿司比冷冻寿司“口感更好”的优势比为0.86（95%置信区间[CI]，0.59 - 1.26；P = 0.45）。对于鱿鱼，48.3%的时间（58份）人们认为未冷冻的寿司更优，35.0%的时间（42份）认为冷冻寿司更优。16.7%（20份）的情况下人们觉得两者相同（优势比，1.38；95% CI，0.93 - 2.05；P = 0.11）。
冷冻生鱼不会破坏寿司的口感。这些发现可能会鼓励在制作寿司前对鱼进行冷冻的做法，有助于降低异尖线虫病的发病率。
