JAPAN ［Gunma］
Japanese Ingredients for the World’s Top Kitchens ＃38
ORGANIC KOMATSUNA
ustainable, Organic, Healthy
2024.03.04
Though the times are always changing,there are certain timeless ingredientsfrom Japan that will never go out ofstyle. Yukio Hattori, president of HattoriNutrition College in Tokyo, introducesunique labors of love—items grown andproduced with care and integrity byhardworking suppliers across thecountry.
連載：未来に届けたい日本の食材
Twenty years ago my father announced that he wanted to give back to the earth,” says Akiko Iino, head of Prema Foods. “He bought some land and started growing vegetables without pesticides or agrochemicals.Komatsuna mustard spinach did especially well so he decided to make it his main crop.
When I was in graduate school my own interest in healthy eating grew, so I went to India and studied sustainable farming.” “In India I saw organic farming at its truest—growing livestock and using the manure for fertilizer, using chili peppers for pesticide. Nothing was wasted, and that’s my ideal here in Gunma, too. We have 62 greenhouses and 8 hectares of open fields. We fertilize with rice bran and manure, rotate crops, and grow komatsuna year-round. What’s not marketed is dried and powdered and used in our original products
A komatsuna plant is cut just above the root so the bunch stays intact.
The harvest is crated stems-down and transported for bagging.
Prema komatsuna is carried by high-end health food shops and department-store produce sections. It’s not bitter and works well raw, in salads and smoothies.
Employees wipe the stems clean, remove the outer leaves, and weigh the greens before packaging.
From top left, pure komatsuna powder, fresh udon and dried somen noodles.
Akiko Iino worked in product development at Natural House before launching Prema.
◎Prema Organic Farm
303-4 Shimo-Higashitanabo, Kasukawamachi, Maebashi-shi,Gunma
☎027-285-3314
https://www.premafoods.com/
（The Cuisine Magazine / April 2018）
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