いち粒 ICHIRYU

Our carrots are grown in Tsunan machi, Naka Uonuma gun in Niigata prefecture. The Tsunan highland, 400 - 1000m above sea level is famous for heavy snowfall and snow can accumulate as high as 3 metres every year. When the snow depth gets to about 1 metre at the end of the long winter, we start to harvest carrots undisturbed under the snow. Let us introduce the work that took place in April as below.

Why is charcoal powder spread? It speeds up the process of melting the snow. If the surface is black, the snow will melt much more quickly.

If the temperature increases, the carrots will go bad quicker. The charcoal powder also becomes fertilizer after the snow has disappeared.

Carrots whose seeds were planted in the previous summer are weeded, they spend the winter months under the snow and are finally harvested after 8 months.

The temperature under the snow is about 0 degrees and it is the optimal environment for carrots to mature, without becoming frozen or rotten.

It is a very special method of cultivating carrots using the power of nature.

The Uonuma's famous local products maturing under the snow create more amino acid and the original flavour of the carrots becomes milder.

How is the additives free juice full of fibres made by Echigo Noentai? The manufacturing processes of ‘peeling', ‘heating' ,‘heating sterilization' are introduced as follows:

• 

• 1.Peeled carrots are steamed so that they become softer to mash.

  2.They are mashed and filtered.Rough mesh is used to maintain the same texture.

  3.They are heated and apple, lemon and plum extracts are added. It is cooked at 95 degrees for 20 minutes.

  4.They are filtered again for safety and reheated. Rough mesh is used here too.

  5.They are bottled - it takes a long time because of the rich texture.

  6.They are reheated at 95 degrees for 15 minutes.

• 

Why heat the juice?

There is one weakness in the carrots containing rich β carotene. They contain a destructive enzyme of vitamin C (ascorbinase) and destroy the vitamin C in the human body. It can be avoided if they are heated or vinegar is added.

The best solution to stop this destruction is to add the citric acid. We therefore add plum extract as citric acid. Also, β carotene rich in carrots is strong against heat and remains in the juice after heating.