Toro (sushi)

{{Short description|Fish product}}

{{Italic title|reason=:Category:Japanese words and phrases}}

{{Nihongo||トロ|Toro|translating to "melting"|lead=yes}} is the fatty meat of tuna{{sfn|Van Kampen-Lewis|2008|p=25}}{{cite book |last1=Fraioli |first1=James O. |last2=Sato |first2=Chef Kaz |date=2008 |title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sushi and Sashimi |url=http://idiotsguides.com/ |location=New York, NY |publisher=Alpha Books |isbn=978-1-59257-782-8 |access-date=2016-02-19 |archive-date=2016-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130024837/http://www.idiotsguides.com/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.sushiencyclopedia.com/sushi_menu.html |title=Sushi Menu |author= |date=2007 |website=Sushi Encyclopedia |access-date=12 February 2016 |quote=The sushi menu consists of basic Edo style sushi and they are grouped in their styles. |archive-date=20 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520055030/http://www.sushiencyclopedia.com/sushi_menu.html |url-status=live }} served as sushi{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Andrew F.|title=American Tuna: The Rise and Fall of an Improbable Food |publisher=University of California Press |year=2012 |isbn=9780520954151 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=AR_Zq_GIHtAC&pg=PA95 95]}} or sashimi. It is usually cut from the belly or outer layers of the Pacific bluefin tuna (the other fish known for similar meat is bigeye tuna).{{sfn|Ashenden|Kitson|1987|p=23}} Good-quality toro is said to create a "melting" sensation once placed in the mouth.{{sfn|Van Kampen-Lewis|2008|p=25}}

The cut is very desirable and has the highest price in the areas of the world where consumers like fatty fish (Japan, USA).{{sfn|Van Kampen-Lewis|2008|p=25}} This preference is a relatively new phenomenon: prior to the Second World War toro was considered to be of low value and frequently simply discarded.{{sfn | Bergin | Haward | 1996 | p=12}}

Toro is subdivided into two grades:{{sfn|Van Kampen-Lewis|2008|pp=25-26}}

• {{nihongo||大トロ|Ōtoro|"big toro"}}{{snd}}very fatty cut from the area belly area just behind the head, tender and rich; expensive and usually served on special occasions;
• {{nihongo||中トロ|Chūtoro|"medium toro"}}{{snd}}less fatty cut made from the areas closer to the tail; the fat content in the case of bigeye reaches 25%.{{sfn|Ashenden|Kitson|1987|p=23}}

Rokusanen Wakayama Japan08bs.jpg|Ōtoro (very fatty toro)

Rokusanen Wakayama Japan07s5.jpg|Chūtoro (medium fatty toro)

Maguro Akami (lean tuna) Nigiri.jpg|Akami (lean tuna)

The meat from the inner layers of the fish, called {{nihongo||赤身|akami}},{{sfn|Van Kampen-Lewis|2008|p=25}} is more reddish and has less fat (with 14% fat in bigeye).{{sfn|Ashenden|Kitson|1987|p=23}}

Toro from wild tuna is a seasonal product: winter tuna is considered to be better, summer one is less fatty.{{sfn|Shoji|1972|p=12}}