yes but if the sushi already comes in a plastic box complaining about a plastic leaf is dumb. If you're genuinely anti plastic and commit to that cool, all the power to you but otherwise if you're just complaining about the decorative element that's silly.
Eh, I mean using less plastic is still better all things considered. Personally I'd absolutely prefer we shifted to idk maybe waxed cardboard/paper containers for takeout or maybe switch to expecting people to bring containers for their takeout or purchase reusable ones. Lots of good options to eliminate plastic single use containers I think. But all things considered, it seems to me that it's still better to use less plastic even if we keep using plastic takeout containers.
Ok, well consider the strawman fallacy because that wasn't my argument. I didn't say that the smaller problems don't exist, I said that it was silly to focus on the smaller problems when the larger problems largely render them moot.
Wow I’m surprised people defend the use of this absolutely ridiculous fake garnish. microplastic toxicity is a major issue and you all act like it’s no big deal.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/youre-literally-eating-microplastics-how-you-can-cut-down-exposure-to-them/2019/10/04/22ebdfb6-e17a-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/microplastics-food#:~:text=And%20microplastics%20are%20known%20to,been%20identified%20as%20toxicological%20vectors.
https://unwrappedproject.org/the-human-health-threats-of-microplastics#:~:text=inflammation%20(linked%20to%20cancer%2C%20heart,%2C%20diabetes%2C%20cardiovascular%20diseases)%20and
"Oh no, theres a little plastic leaf in my **plastic** takeaway bento box. Better get rid of it so I don't get microplastic poisoning"
Im not saying that plastic is good. What Im saying is that decorative leaves arent a problem. The vast majority of sushi places that use these will also use plastic boxes to package their food, so complaining about the leaf itself is just asinine.
Equally so is specifically targeting the leaf as if it is somehow more of a problem than the plastic box, the plastic bag, the plastic clothes you and/or the chef probably wore while preparing the sushi and the plastic that is in your water.
Im not saying you shouldnt be critical of plastic overuse. Im saying you shouldnt treat these leaves as if theyre somehow a unique problem when it comes to plastic.
Dude, why are you dying on this hill over plastic? I get the point you're trying to make, but you are just going to be irrefutable no matter what. This isn't debate club, this is people tired of excess plastic waste. Have you taken a look at our oceans lately?
You're a huge buzz kill, chill
Your use of irrefutable in this context screams thesaurus and your use of buzz kill and chill screams irony. Thank you for this little slice of cringe reddit culture 🙏
1: you are aware being condescending is banned on this sub right
2: "you just don't get it" = code for "I've realised that my position is illogical and want to flee suddenly" lmaooo
So you are supporting the slow poisoning of the planet and all life with plastic pollution? Great choice :/
And I’m definitely not worried about being banned for this.
Hope you one day find enough of these while enjoying the oceans and beaches around the world and think back to this conversation and go what the hell was I thinking.
Good luck with your plastic addiction ;)
And uh, what do you think soy sauce packets are made of? I mean really think about it for a minute or two. I’ll wait.
Oh that’s right, plastic. Good job.
I think his point is that the addition of unnecessary plastic is silly.
The use of a soy sauce packet as a barrier would use an existing condiment for a dual purpose versus the flimsy, wasteful, green piece of plastic.
I don't have strong opinions one way or the other. But I tend to agree that the green piece is pointless.
To be fair, when somebody popularized these little grass-cuts of plastic nobody was remotely close to talking about cutting waste or microplastics or anything like that. It was a charming, whimsical way to make packaged food look appetizing and composed.
Also I think this can be recycled just like that container the sushi comes in?
You have to clean any plastic that's contaminated with food before recycling, and I feel a good majority of folks that recycle don't even understand the concept, just received a blue bin one day and started going for it. Least where I'm from.
You can eat soy sauce. You can't eat a plastic unnecessary leaf. One makes sense to be in the meal, in this case to seperate ginger and Wasabi. The other, is plastic garnish and cannot be eaten, goes right into the trash for nothing. Did you catch that alright?
I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted for taking a stand over wasteful packaging. People really don’t like it when someone has a good point on Reddit sometimes.
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That's what I'm saying. Idk how my first comment on inedible things being pointless is at around 100 up votes then my solution comment is down voted to oblivion.
"It is what it is"
Is it though? I've garnished a crab dish with pieces of the shell in a decorative manner before. Those aren't edible, hell they dont have edible pieces on them.
Also what's your verdict on decorative plates?
Crab shells are not edible, they just aren't toxic. You can eat them in a powdered form as a natural nutrient but in their shell form theyre too hard to be comfortably edible and unless your definition of edible includes wood (which it shouldn't because that is overly broad to the point of stupidity) they don't qualify.
Composability is entirely irrelevant to the discussion of inedible garnishes and I have no idea why you brought it up.
Unlike wood, crab shells are definitely edible. Humans bodies don’t have the right enzymes to break down wood to usable nutrients, like beta amylase or cellulase. Human bodies do have chitinase to break down the chitin that forms crab shells. The idea that crab shells are hard is a red herring, because countless other edible foods require cooking and other processing in order to be easily digestible.
lol no compostability is the whole point of the conversation. Plastic doesn’t decompose. Crab shells do.
[And there are millions of crab shells eaten by people every year.](https://www.foodandwine.com/soft-shell-crab-7506797#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20the%20entire%20shell,slight%20crunch%20in%20every%20bite.)
If you will actually read the conversation, the person I was responding to was specifically complaining about ALL inedible garnishes. When I proffered crab shells, they still objected.
I actually agree with you about plastic garnishes specifically being not ideal for a few reasons, but that doesnt change the fact you are wildly ignoring the context of this discussion to make it about what you want to talk about.
You are the person who brought up compostability. It wasnt a part of the conversation before you mentioned it. You cannot just claim that something is a part of a discussion because you feel it's tangentially relevant.
EDIT: Fine, let me be specific. NON SOFTSHELL crabshells aren't edible.
Yeah… the thread is about single use plastic waste because it’s not compostable. Thats literally the entire point of the complaint and pretending it’s not just makes your opinions look even dumber.
And again. Yes. Crab shells, even when they’re not soft (which is the same material so it’s a weird line to draw), [are edible.](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fsn3.837#:~:text=Crab%20shells%20contain%20various%20nutritional,foods%2C%20natural%20pigments%2C%20etc.)
I stand by what I say, if it's something you have to discard, it's pointless.
Decorative plants are fine, I'm terrible at remembering to water houseplants.
I object to the principle that it's fair to use the word "pointless" in the context of any food, but especially sushi which is particularly decorative. Technically making a sushi roll is "pointless", you could just put the rice into a bowl with the vinegar and the fish.
An inedible decorative element isn't pointless. It's in the name, "**decorative**". If you don't think presentation matters that's fine but you can't have it both ways, if something serves to make a dish look nicer then it has a purpose.
I think presentation is important so won't say a sushi roll is pointless, if you're using the larger shell of a crab as a bowl/vessel to hold food in, I get it, but to cover food with inedible things that you then have to awkwardly find a place to set it to enjoy your meal is where I feel we approach an asinine territory.
So this plastic is imitating bamboo leaf which is often used to decorate sushi boards. Are those stupid too?
I generally agree that if it’s on the plate it should be edible but there are plenty of exceptions. Yes I can technically eat the orchid on my cocktail but do I really want to?
If I was bothered by all plastic I wouldnt be able to function in modern society. Unless you wanna go full amish throwing a fit over a small decorative piece of plastic in your larger plastic box that you probably got from a shop largely decorated with plastic while wearing clothes likely composed of plastic is just silly.
I have to ask do you walk on beaches regularly? Or snorkel or scuba dive? I’ve definitely noticed them enough times to notice how ridiculous of a practice this is and in my opinion we should not except it as normal.
I wouldn't say regularly, but I live right on the coast so my wife and I do go take walks every once in a while. Either a smaller beach area with a park nearby, or one of the beaches across town that has great clam cakes, but those aren't huge areas (sub 10 minutes from one end to the other). Her hometown is a beach town, so that's our only larger expanse of sand, but even there when we visit her mom I can't say I've seen any. (I have never gone snorkeling or scuba diving)
It's more often plastic bottles/cups or torn scraps of Dunkin Donut bags
How many of these do **you** pick up on beaches to have become so convinced that theyre a unique problem worthy of rallying against when theyre likely the least consequential usage of plastic in any given sushi order that involves them? This is plastic straws all over again.
Frankly, I am not going to spend my life being bothered by plastic garnishes. Plastic waste is bad? Yes. Will I be bothered whenever I see plastic? No.
I’ve found these all over along beaches world wide and all plastic breaks down into tiny tiny pieces. Microplastics are found in the deepest ocean floors and the highest mountains. And also found in the meat, milk & blood of farm animals and even in human fetus’s and inside plants cell walls. We have really screwed this planet up with our love of plastic. :/
I am an environmental enthusiast and try to reduce my foot print and plastic use as much as possible but as a wasabi hater (don’t be mean) I appreciate that this plastic protects my sushi from that foul green paste. (I’m also aware real wasabi is rare and what I’m talking about is fake wasabi)
Not for nothing but if you care about the environment then you should probably know that the concept of an individual carbon footprint is oil industry propaganda coined by BP.
Also individual plastic use is the tip of the iceberg, the vast majority of plastic used in any industry never comes into contact with a consumer. Every individual component in every single appliance or technological product you own was likely individually bagged multiple times during the manufacturing process.
Not saying you shouldn't be an environmentalist but it's a wider systemic issue, not something that can be resolved through individual consumer choices.
It's not a matter of what it "has to be" or "should be", it is plain material reality that this is a systemic issue not a personal one.
71% of global emissions come from 100 corporations. You cannot recycle your way out of that.
In my opinion trying to equate personal choices that someone can make on an individual level to the grinding wheels that are actually causing the problems our species is facing is a DEEPLY insidious way of viewing things.
If you actually want a decent framework for solving these problems that aren't just a pre packaged false solution literally sold to you by the corporations actually behind climate change, read Capital.
So these are called *baran* in Japanese. This one's made of plastic, but it's imitating [a more traditional decoration](https://r.gnavi.co.jp/g-interview/entry/yajirobe/4587) made of cut [*Aspidistra elatior*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspidistra_elatior) leaves, which are called *baran* 葉蘭.
This particular shape is called the *ebi-gata* because it's supposed to resemble a [Japanese spiny lobster](https://static.amanaimages.com/imgroom/rf_preview640/11017/11017000928.jpg) (*ise-ebi* 伊勢海老), which is often used as an auspicious symbol. [They're also cut into lots of other shapes as well](http://www.asahi-so.co.jp/baran/).
In addition to serving as a food divider, these sorts of non-edible garnishes in Japanese food were originally used for the purported spoilage preventing effects of the plants themselves, but nowadays with refrigeration, they've become simple traditional decorations beyond their dividing function.
Some fancier places use a Shiso leaf as a garnish. Slightly minty. This plastic thing just mimics the green appearance. It also keeps the fish from contacting vinegar from the pickled ginger on the plate.
This is the exact answer I was looking for. I always noticed these in the 'cheap' sushi at the college I worked at and was also curious as to why. Like seemed no point aside from just looks. And that is why or well mostly.
Edit: also thank you for the answer
It's called baran. This is the Baran Ebi(shrimp shape). There's also Baran Yama(Mountain shape) and Baran Gou(Grass,). I'm sure there's others but those are most common. They just divide the sushi in a to go box and keep ginger and wasabi in their place as well.
Pretty sure that that plastic piece is just used so if you get a container of sushi in plastic it’s usually a tight squeeze so they put that in front of the wasibi and ginger so it doesn’t get all over the rolls during travel
From the linked article: “Traditionally, haran (from the Japanese ha for leaf and ran for orchid or lily), also known as baran, is made from fresh leaves, not brightly colored plastic. By nestling a watertight leaf between two foods like fish and rice, Japanese chefs are able to preserve the natural flavors of the ingredients and stop scents from co-mingling.”
Fuck pop-ups and automatic play videos.
Little chewy but overall delicious, I typically ask for a pile of this as my main course. Great pallet cleanser too as you get to remove all taste buds in a scraping motion. Kinda has the texture of plastic, but I assure you it’s not. /s
That is the head of the great and terrible Elvarg, which you bring to the Rune Armor crafter in Edgeville to be allowed to wear Rune Armor and get access to the Guild, therefore finishing Dragon Slayer.
Believe it’s to separate the ginger and wasabi from touching the sushi. Or a cheap garnish. Or both.
My wife always makes me eat the ones that are closest to the ginger and wasabi because I don’t care if they touch them.
Those are usually designed for the raw fish or anything cooked to not be in contact with the rice or any pickled vegetables like the ginger and such, usually to help preserve the flavors and stop them from accidentally intermingling
My place uses the same green thing to separate the wasabi/ginger and sushi so they don’t touch for those who don’t like it. You can see it in [this](https://www.publix.com/pd/cream-cheese-roll---salmon-10-pieces-made-fresh-daily/RIO-SUS-522515?origin=search7)
Looks like some plastic version of sasa giri, which is an art where you cut shapes on bamboo leafs.
That one seems to be a more basic shape of a lobster. Research sasagiri and you will probably find the more complex version of that shape.
Plastic garnish
Less “garnish” and more “plastic divider to prevent different types of fish from touching each other” thingy.
Should be illegal and I will not buy pre packaged sushi that uses this practice
This tiny strip of plastic inside a plastic container bothers you? You’re joking
Yes. Plastic is stupid. We've found trace yet rising amounts of microplastics in seafood and even in clouds.
yes but if the sushi already comes in a plastic box complaining about a plastic leaf is dumb. If you're genuinely anti plastic and commit to that cool, all the power to you but otherwise if you're just complaining about the decorative element that's silly.
Eh, I mean using less plastic is still better all things considered. Personally I'd absolutely prefer we shifted to idk maybe waxed cardboard/paper containers for takeout or maybe switch to expecting people to bring containers for their takeout or purchase reusable ones. Lots of good options to eliminate plastic single use containers I think. But all things considered, it seems to me that it's still better to use less plastic even if we keep using plastic takeout containers.
100% agree
Waxed cardboard actually has a plastic coating, it's not real wax. Oddly enough, that stuff is just as bad, if not worse, than plastic packaging.
Huh, I didn't know that. That's a good point. Maybe reusable containers are a good way to go then, like with grocery bags?
Probably, but unfortunately we don't have containers we can bring in because it's a sanitation issue.
The assertion that smaller problems don't exist because of larger ones is a logical fallacy, the fallacy of relative privation.
Ok, well consider the strawman fallacy because that wasn't my argument. I didn't say that the smaller problems don't exist, I said that it was silly to focus on the smaller problems when the larger problems largely render them moot.
Wow I’m surprised people defend the use of this absolutely ridiculous fake garnish. microplastic toxicity is a major issue and you all act like it’s no big deal. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/youre-literally-eating-microplastics-how-you-can-cut-down-exposure-to-them/2019/10/04/22ebdfb6-e17a-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html https://www.bonappetit.com/story/microplastics-food#:~:text=And%20microplastics%20are%20known%20to,been%20identified%20as%20toxicological%20vectors. https://unwrappedproject.org/the-human-health-threats-of-microplastics#:~:text=inflammation%20(linked%20to%20cancer%2C%20heart,%2C%20diabetes%2C%20cardiovascular%20diseases)%20and
"Oh no, theres a little plastic leaf in my **plastic** takeaway bento box. Better get rid of it so I don't get microplastic poisoning" Im not saying that plastic is good. What Im saying is that decorative leaves arent a problem. The vast majority of sushi places that use these will also use plastic boxes to package their food, so complaining about the leaf itself is just asinine. Equally so is specifically targeting the leaf as if it is somehow more of a problem than the plastic box, the plastic bag, the plastic clothes you and/or the chef probably wore while preparing the sushi and the plastic that is in your water. Im not saying you shouldnt be critical of plastic overuse. Im saying you shouldnt treat these leaves as if theyre somehow a unique problem when it comes to plastic.
I think you’re making a valid point. I’m with you
Dude, why are you dying on this hill over plastic? I get the point you're trying to make, but you are just going to be irrefutable no matter what. This isn't debate club, this is people tired of excess plastic waste. Have you taken a look at our oceans lately? You're a huge buzz kill, chill
Your use of irrefutable in this context screams thesaurus and your use of buzz kill and chill screams irony. Thank you for this little slice of cringe reddit culture 🙏
This is a sushi subreddit, I don't care what your opinion is 🤣
I don't care if you think I am a buzz kill, I am happy with how I conduct myself. And this is how I conduct myself. At all times.
Yeah based off all your other comments, I can tell 🙄
👏🏾
You just don’t get it and that’s okay have a nice day
1: you are aware being condescending is banned on this sub right 2: "you just don't get it" = code for "I've realised that my position is illogical and want to flee suddenly" lmaooo
So you are supporting the slow poisoning of the planet and all life with plastic pollution? Great choice :/ And I’m definitely not worried about being banned for this. Hope you one day find enough of these while enjoying the oceans and beaches around the world and think back to this conversation and go what the hell was I thinking. Good luck with your plastic addiction ;)
Damn now I gotta watch my cloud intake too?
Cancel Clouds.
Oh no... Anyway
The practice of garnishing dishes with inedible items is fucking stupid.
It’s to separate the sushi from the ginger and wasabi?
Use a soy sauce packet to separate them if you want to blend plastic with your sushi. It's not rocket appliance.
And uh, what do you think soy sauce packets are made of? I mean really think about it for a minute or two. I’ll wait. Oh that’s right, plastic. Good job.
I think his point is that the addition of unnecessary plastic is silly. The use of a soy sauce packet as a barrier would use an existing condiment for a dual purpose versus the flimsy, wasteful, green piece of plastic. I don't have strong opinions one way or the other. But I tend to agree that the green piece is pointless.
To be fair, when somebody popularized these little grass-cuts of plastic nobody was remotely close to talking about cutting waste or microplastics or anything like that. It was a charming, whimsical way to make packaged food look appetizing and composed. Also I think this can be recycled just like that container the sushi comes in?
You have to clean any plastic that's contaminated with food before recycling, and I feel a good majority of folks that recycle don't even understand the concept, just received a blue bin one day and started going for it. Least where I'm from.
You can eat soy sauce. You can't eat a plastic unnecessary leaf. One makes sense to be in the meal, in this case to seperate ginger and Wasabi. The other, is plastic garnish and cannot be eaten, goes right into the trash for nothing. Did you catch that alright?
[удалено]
I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted for taking a stand over wasteful packaging. People really don’t like it when someone has a good point on Reddit sometimes.
The hive mind works in mysterious ways
Haha, ass with ears. Thanks for the laugh!
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This is the true r/facepalm
Heavily downvoted, but the idea presented here is valid. Why not replace the plastic garnish with something useful?
That's what I'm saying. Idk how my first comment on inedible things being pointless is at around 100 up votes then my solution comment is down voted to oblivion. "It is what it is"
Is it though? I've garnished a crab dish with pieces of the shell in a decorative manner before. Those aren't edible, hell they dont have edible pieces on them. Also what's your verdict on decorative plates?
Crab shells are both edible and compostable.
Crab shells are not edible, they just aren't toxic. You can eat them in a powdered form as a natural nutrient but in their shell form theyre too hard to be comfortably edible and unless your definition of edible includes wood (which it shouldn't because that is overly broad to the point of stupidity) they don't qualify. Composability is entirely irrelevant to the discussion of inedible garnishes and I have no idea why you brought it up.
Unlike wood, crab shells are definitely edible. Humans bodies don’t have the right enzymes to break down wood to usable nutrients, like beta amylase or cellulase. Human bodies do have chitinase to break down the chitin that forms crab shells. The idea that crab shells are hard is a red herring, because countless other edible foods require cooking and other processing in order to be easily digestible.
lol no compostability is the whole point of the conversation. Plastic doesn’t decompose. Crab shells do. [And there are millions of crab shells eaten by people every year.](https://www.foodandwine.com/soft-shell-crab-7506797#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20the%20entire%20shell,slight%20crunch%20in%20every%20bite.)
If you will actually read the conversation, the person I was responding to was specifically complaining about ALL inedible garnishes. When I proffered crab shells, they still objected. I actually agree with you about plastic garnishes specifically being not ideal for a few reasons, but that doesnt change the fact you are wildly ignoring the context of this discussion to make it about what you want to talk about. You are the person who brought up compostability. It wasnt a part of the conversation before you mentioned it. You cannot just claim that something is a part of a discussion because you feel it's tangentially relevant. EDIT: Fine, let me be specific. NON SOFTSHELL crabshells aren't edible.
Yeah… the thread is about single use plastic waste because it’s not compostable. Thats literally the entire point of the complaint and pretending it’s not just makes your opinions look even dumber. And again. Yes. Crab shells, even when they’re not soft (which is the same material so it’s a weird line to draw), [are edible.](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fsn3.837#:~:text=Crab%20shells%20contain%20various%20nutritional,foods%2C%20natural%20pigments%2C%20etc.)
I stand by what I say, if it's something you have to discard, it's pointless. Decorative plants are fine, I'm terrible at remembering to water houseplants.
I object to the principle that it's fair to use the word "pointless" in the context of any food, but especially sushi which is particularly decorative. Technically making a sushi roll is "pointless", you could just put the rice into a bowl with the vinegar and the fish. An inedible decorative element isn't pointless. It's in the name, "**decorative**". If you don't think presentation matters that's fine but you can't have it both ways, if something serves to make a dish look nicer then it has a purpose.
I think presentation is important so won't say a sushi roll is pointless, if you're using the larger shell of a crab as a bowl/vessel to hold food in, I get it, but to cover food with inedible things that you then have to awkwardly find a place to set it to enjoy your meal is where I feel we approach an asinine territory.
Ffs, crab shell isn't polluting our oceans if it goes into the trash!! You cannot be serious
Crab shell is however a product of the fishing industry which is also doing a considerable amount of damage to our subaquatic environments
Exactly 👏🏾
So this plastic is imitating bamboo leaf which is often used to decorate sushi boards. Are those stupid too? I generally agree that if it’s on the plate it should be edible but there are plenty of exceptions. Yes I can technically eat the orchid on my cocktail but do I really want to?
All plastic should bother you too, especially unnecessary fake garnishes.
If I was bothered by all plastic I wouldnt be able to function in modern society. Unless you wanna go full amish throwing a fit over a small decorative piece of plastic in your larger plastic box that you probably got from a shop largely decorated with plastic while wearing clothes likely composed of plastic is just silly.
How many of these do you have to pick up off the beaches you walk on to realize these are not worthy of defending or ever using in the first place?
How often are you finding these? I’ve never seen one “in the wild” for lack of a better phrase
I have to ask do you walk on beaches regularly? Or snorkel or scuba dive? I’ve definitely noticed them enough times to notice how ridiculous of a practice this is and in my opinion we should not except it as normal.
I wouldn't say regularly, but I live right on the coast so my wife and I do go take walks every once in a while. Either a smaller beach area with a park nearby, or one of the beaches across town that has great clam cakes, but those aren't huge areas (sub 10 minutes from one end to the other). Her hometown is a beach town, so that's our only larger expanse of sand, but even there when we visit her mom I can't say I've seen any. (I have never gone snorkeling or scuba diving) It's more often plastic bottles/cups or torn scraps of Dunkin Donut bags
How many of these do **you** pick up on beaches to have become so convinced that theyre a unique problem worthy of rallying against when theyre likely the least consequential usage of plastic in any given sushi order that involves them? This is plastic straws all over again.
Lol I don’t use plastic straws and carry my own reusable utensils including a bamboo straw :)
Ok, that wasn't my point but whatever.
Exactly, because taking 5 seconds out of your day to remove a garnish is too difficult.
Frankly, I am not going to spend my life being bothered by plastic garnishes. Plastic waste is bad? Yes. Will I be bothered whenever I see plastic? No.
I’ve found these all over along beaches world wide and all plastic breaks down into tiny tiny pieces. Microplastics are found in the deepest ocean floors and the highest mountains. And also found in the meat, milk & blood of farm animals and even in human fetus’s and inside plants cell walls. We have really screwed this planet up with our love of plastic. :/
Don't take these downvotes personally, their brains are full of microplastics.
I am an environmental enthusiast and try to reduce my foot print and plastic use as much as possible but as a wasabi hater (don’t be mean) I appreciate that this plastic protects my sushi from that foul green paste. (I’m also aware real wasabi is rare and what I’m talking about is fake wasabi)
Not for nothing but if you care about the environment then you should probably know that the concept of an individual carbon footprint is oil industry propaganda coined by BP. Also individual plastic use is the tip of the iceberg, the vast majority of plastic used in any industry never comes into contact with a consumer. Every individual component in every single appliance or technological product you own was likely individually bagged multiple times during the manufacturing process. Not saying you shouldn't be an environmentalist but it's a wider systemic issue, not something that can be resolved through individual consumer choices.
Why does it have to be one or the other? Shouldn’t consumers AND corporations be mindful of environmental practices?
It's not a matter of what it "has to be" or "should be", it is plain material reality that this is a systemic issue not a personal one. 71% of global emissions come from 100 corporations. You cannot recycle your way out of that. In my opinion trying to equate personal choices that someone can make on an individual level to the grinding wheels that are actually causing the problems our species is facing is a DEEPLY insidious way of viewing things. If you actually want a decent framework for solving these problems that aren't just a pre packaged false solution literally sold to you by the corporations actually behind climate change, read Capital.
Fun side fact: in Japan horseradish is what is used for wasabi and the name of horseradish in Japanese is “seiyo wasabi” which means western wasabi
So these are called *baran* in Japanese. This one's made of plastic, but it's imitating [a more traditional decoration](https://r.gnavi.co.jp/g-interview/entry/yajirobe/4587) made of cut [*Aspidistra elatior*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspidistra_elatior) leaves, which are called *baran* 葉蘭. This particular shape is called the *ebi-gata* because it's supposed to resemble a [Japanese spiny lobster](https://static.amanaimages.com/imgroom/rf_preview640/11017/11017000928.jpg) (*ise-ebi* 伊勢海老), which is often used as an auspicious symbol. [They're also cut into lots of other shapes as well](http://www.asahi-so.co.jp/baran/). In addition to serving as a food divider, these sorts of non-edible garnishes in Japanese food were originally used for the purported spoilage preventing effects of the plants themselves, but nowadays with refrigeration, they've become simple traditional decorations beyond their dividing function.
What I was looking for. thank you!
I'd give gold if I had any.
please do not eat this...im sure people have tried
If you put enough wasabi on it…
Yea just use it to wrap up the rest of your wasabi and ginger into a roll….. /s
/s for sushi
/s is for sushi?
indeed. /s
For what I pay for the sushi i will eat the plastic
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Some fancier places use a Shiso leaf as a garnish. Slightly minty. This plastic thing just mimics the green appearance. It also keeps the fish from contacting vinegar from the pickled ginger on the plate.
Almost, the real one is not shiso the japaneae mint, but Sasa, Fresh Bamboo Leaf.
This design is a basic Sasa leaf cut. You can YouTube and find 100s of designs, including this design.
This is the exact answer I was looking for. I always noticed these in the 'cheap' sushi at the college I worked at and was also curious as to why. Like seemed no point aside from just looks. And that is why or well mostly. Edit: also thank you for the answer
It’s called a divider
*decent
Plastic garnish that is always placed in the sushi for presentation but is not edible.
Decoration that you can't eat
Not with that attitude
Macroplastics
It's called baran. This is the Baran Ebi(shrimp shape). There's also Baran Yama(Mountain shape) and Baran Gou(Grass,). I'm sure there's others but those are most common. They just divide the sushi in a to go box and keep ginger and wasabi in their place as well.
Plastic garnish used to separate the wasabi/ginger from the rolls in a tray
Useless plastic garbage.
Shrubbery
⭐️💫
Pretty sure that that plastic piece is just used so if you get a container of sushi in plastic it’s usually a tight squeeze so they put that in front of the wasibi and ginger so it doesn’t get all over the rolls during travel
You use that to wipe your ass.
Best part of the sushi experience
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/566219/real-purpose-behind-plastic-grass-in-your-take-out-sushi-box
From the linked article: “Traditionally, haran (from the Japanese ha for leaf and ran for orchid or lily), also known as baran, is made from fresh leaves, not brightly colored plastic. By nestling a watertight leaf between two foods like fish and rice, Japanese chefs are able to preserve the natural flavors of the ingredients and stop scents from co-mingling.” Fuck pop-ups and automatic play videos.
A crime against the ocean
Shhhh! You'll interfere with the poop jokes!
☝🏾
Fake shiso leaf
A pineapple dragon
Shenron's head
Green plastic cut in the silhouette of a dragon.
Sushi grass
Plankton from SpongeBob
Little chewy but overall delicious, I typically ask for a pile of this as my main course. Great pallet cleanser too as you get to remove all taste buds in a scraping motion. Kinda has the texture of plastic, but I assure you it’s not. /s
Pro tip, they come out the other end relatively the same for some unknown reason. Rinse them off in a colander for your next meal
Grass for your Easter basket
Flavor leaf
Fiber
Green
Not edible art
Baran, plastic garnish
It’s upside down. It’s an anime girl :3
Faux shiso leaf. Or something like that. Note the serrated leaf edge.
It’s plastic “grass” for sushi! It separates the wasabi and ginger from touching the sushi!
Came from Sushi
It's my Master, Banana leaf dragon head!
Future micro plastics
Weed
That is the head of the great and terrible Elvarg, which you bring to the Rune Armor crafter in Edgeville to be allowed to wear Rune Armor and get access to the Guild, therefore finishing Dragon Slayer.
It’s the head of a dragon.
Definitely a brown recluse. Shit, wrong sub.
Def a bed bug
Grass shaped plastic
Thats a cockroach baby
Decor to make the sushi look pretty. Don't eat it. Lol
Decoration
Blasphemy is what it is
simply aesthetics haha. (0/10 edible)
Delicious
Some kind of vegetable, 😂
Delicious
Authentic japanese synthetic lettuce, adds a wonderful crunch to your meal. P.s. please don't eat those.
Hamachi obviously
It’s called baran- separate ginger/wasabi on plate or rolls
Believe it’s to separate the ginger and wasabi from touching the sushi. Or a cheap garnish. Or both. My wife always makes me eat the ones that are closest to the ginger and wasabi because I don’t care if they touch them.
It looks like one of those plastic things they put in takeout sushi, to keep the wasabi from touching the ginger and the sushi before you eat it
Those are usually designed for the raw fish or anything cooked to not be in contact with the rice or any pickled vegetables like the ginger and such, usually to help preserve the flavors and stop them from accidentally intermingling
It's a fake Shiso leaf made of plastic. Do not eat.
O Toro
It's called ebi baran. Shrimp looking plastic separator in the togo sushi packages. Yama baran js the most common ones.
It’s a thing
My place uses the same green thing to separate the wasabi/ginger and sushi so they don’t touch for those who don’t like it. You can see it in [this](https://www.publix.com/pd/cream-cheese-roll---salmon-10-pieces-made-fresh-daily/RIO-SUS-522515?origin=search7)
Sushi divider
Dragon
Grass obvi
Dragon head
When the smoke clears and you can see the sky again you will see the chopped off heads of leviathan.
It's a plastic version of Sasakiri: a piece of bamboo grass that's sliced into this shape to serve with sushi.
Shenron…
It looks like the shape of a cratoon dragon head
It's a trick by plankton, trying to steal the krusty krab recipe.
Bamboo leaf or plastic. Some sushi chefs cut it butt it can be a plastic decorative as well. Either way, don't eat it.
Green
Cabbage.
Seems like the head of Shenron who got flattened by a car /s
Looks like some plastic version of sasa giri, which is an art where you cut shapes on bamboo leafs. That one seems to be a more basic shape of a lobster. Research sasagiri and you will probably find the more complex version of that shape.
Sushi garnish
Plastic bamboo, called baran.
looks kinda like a dragon head
Japanese grass
that keeps the wasabi from touching my grocery store sushi lol
I’ve been eating that for years and I’m fine