"Sashisuseso" is Japanese Hiragana
What is “sashisuseto” in cooking?
①Sa……Sugar
②Shi……Salt
③Su……Vinegar
④Se……soy sauce
⑤So……Miso
It is generally said that it is preferable to put in this order when seasoning.
【reason】
● Sugar and salt break apart into very small particles called molecular ions.
Salt has a higher osmotic pressure than sugar, and it is said that it is easy to absorb because it is a small grain *1. In addition, it has the effect of tightening the ingredients, so if you add salt first, the sugar that you add later will have a harder time soaking in. Sugar, on the other hand, has the property of softening the cellular tissue of ingredients and making it easier for the flavors of other seasonings to soak in. Therefore, it is better to add sugar before salt. Also, since soy sauce also contains salt, it is added after sugar, just like salt.
Sugar improves dispersibility
●Vinegar is volatile, and if you add it too quickly, the heat of cooking will dissipate the aroma. Furthermore, since it has the effect of solidifying proteins when heated for a short time, it interferes with the penetration of flavors into ingredients more than salt, so it is added after salt.
●Soy sauce and miso are seasonings that lose their flavor easily when heated. So add it at the end.
Sake and mirin contain alcohol, so if you put them in first, you can get more of the cooking effect of alcohol, such as "eliminating the fishy smell" and "improving the flavor."
*It does not mean that you have to add the flavor in the order of ``sashisuseso'', but it is called ``sashisuseso'' based on this principle.
*₁ When sugar or salt is added to food while heating, each molecule diffuses from the higher concentration to the lower concentration. Different seasonings have different molecular diffusion speeds, and since the speed of salt is greater than that of sugar, salt reaches the interior of the food faster.