Full-scale summer is finally here.  Promotions of “Eels in the dog days” have begun to stand out in supermarkets and convenience stores.  It looks delicious and appetizing.  The origin of this “Eels in the dog days” is in the middle of the Edo period.  It started with the advice of Dutch scholar Hiraga Gennai to the eel shop whose sales are declining in the summer.  However, “Chirimen Sansho” is a recipe that has been applied to measures against heat fatigue for a long time.  Sansho is a spice that is so well known in the world that it is now called Japanese pepper.  It is also indispensable for “Eels in the dog days”.  Sansho is used properly according to the difference in leaves, flowers, and fruits, and the taste differs depending on the variety, such as Asakura Sansho and Kogen Sansho.  Moreover, it is nutritious as a condiment.  On the other hand, “chirimen” is all kinds of sardine young fish (shirasu), which are also nutritious.  If you sprinkle “Chirimen Sansho” on the hot white rice, it will be a summer heat recipe that surpasses “Eels in the dog days”.

いよいよ本格的な夏がやってきます。スーパーやコンビニには「土用の鰻」の宣伝が目立ち始めました。見るからに美味しそうで食欲をそそります。この「土用の鰻」、起こりは江戸時代中期、夏には売り上げが落ち込む鰻屋に蘭学者の平賀源内がアドバイスしたことによるとのこと。しかし、もっともっと古くから夏バテ対策に当てられたレシピが「ちりめん山椒」。山椒は、今ではジャパニーズペッパーと呼ばれるほど世界にも知られた香辛料です。「土用の鰻」にも欠かせません。山椒は葉や花、実の違いによって使い分け、朝倉山椒や高原山椒など、品種によっても味が違います。しかも薬味としても栄養満点。かたや「ちりめん」はあらゆる種類のイワシの仔稚魚（しらす）で、これも栄養満点。ホクホクの白ご飯に「ちりめん山椒」を振り掛ければ「土用の鰻」を凌ぐほどの夏バテレシピになります。