Aji – [Sushi|Foodlore]

Description

Aji – (Horse Mackerel.) – Katakana: アジ  Hiragana: あじ Kanji: 鰺.

• About this fish: Small mildly flavoured fish which thrive off the coastline. Incidentally, the Japanese kanji 味 (あじ) meaning “taste” or “flavor” is also read as Aji, so its yet another fish with a bit of a punny name! – Funnily enough, horse mackerel are not really mackerel (nor are they horses) but rather they’re a type of Jack fish (A closer relative to the Amberjack.) I’m sure that you’re dying to know: “Then why the heck is it called a ‘Horse Mackerel?” Well… The English naming actually has basically nothing to do with horses. But Rather, ’Hors Mackereel’ which was once the Dutch word for the ‘shallow waters’ [where kind where these kinds of fish spawn!]’ So, The English misunderstood this and started calling the fish “Horse Mackerel” and so, that naming caught on, and eventually a maritime myth popped up that they were named as such “Because these fish were strong swimmers and that smaller fish (such as herring) might ride them like horses!”

[Sticker art by @Samkalensky, Part of my Nigiri Sushi/Foodlore collections.]