Shiozuke (Salt Pickles) (塩漬け)
The oldest method: vegetables salted to draw out water, then kept or pressed - the base technique behind many regional pickles.
| Method family | Salt only (sometimes with chilli, kombu or shiso for flavour). Long-kept shiozuke ferment mildly by lactic bacteria |
|---|---|
| Examples | Salted cabbage and greens, nozawana of Nagano (a long salt ferment of mustard greens), umeboshi at its first stage |
Salt does two jobs: it draws water from the vegetable, concentrating flavour and firming texture, and it selects for salt-tolerant microbes, so a long shiozuke becomes a gentle ferment rather than simply a salty vegetable.
Nozawana is the textbook case: the mustard greens of the Nozawa onsen area in Nagano are salted in barrels in late autumn - legend in the village ties the method to the temple Kenmeiji - and eaten through winter. Commercial nozawana abroad is usually pasteurised; the flavour is close, the live ferment is not.
See also
What are tsukemono?Related page in this guide.Umeboshi
Related page in this guide.
Sources: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), 'Traditional Foods in Japan'; JAS soy sauce standards; Umami Information Center; Kikkoman official information; Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Checked 6 November 2026.