Now that I have received my manufacturing license, I can finally start preparing. To be honest, getting the license has been my goal, so when I was told I could start making it, I didn't know where to start.
First of all, I started with paperwork again. Just when I thought I was done, there was still more to do.
First, measure and calibrate the tank's capacity. Submit a list of the items to be manufactured. Prepare a ledger. This ledger is a pain, as it requires recording where the raw materials come from, how much alcohol is produced when fermented in the container, how much alcohol is produced when distilled, and what container it is aged in... For each process from the raw materials to the finished product, you have to record the volume, alcohol content, and the container it is in.
What's strange is that there is no specific format for filling it out. When I asked a tax office official, he said that there are many long-established sake breweries, and it would be difficult to specify a format, so there is no specific format.
Since we don't know anything about this, it would be better if they decided on the items and formats, but there is nothing that doesn't exist. Even on the vast internet, there is no accounting format for alcohol manufacturing, and it seems that everyone is using the format they inherited from their own companies.
When I was at a loss, a tax office official came to my rescue by saying that I should prepare some documents from other companies. Until now, we had a relationship of checking and being checked, but from now on, they will also be my supporter to help me stand on my own (pay my taxes). I am grateful.
On the other hand, I am also purchasing fruit, which is fun. Since I missed the autumn harvest season, I hurriedly contacted the older men who are producers. The fun part about talking to them is that they all use their ingenuity to make what they like. When I say they like something, I don't just mean that they like it, but that they choose crops that make use of the characteristics of the land, or have a business perspective on what they think will sell, and they decide what to make after comprehensive consideration. When I talk to them, I am inspired in many ways.
◉Lemon Koizumi-san
Mr. Koizumi grows lemons and mandarin oranges in the mountains of Kamogawa. He and his wife run the farm, and they have a beautiful jujube tree in front of their house.
The bowl-shaped slope is an ideal location, with plenty of sunlight but protection from the wind, and is used to grow citrus fruits such as lemons, blood oranges, and mandarins.
Lemons grown with reduced use of pesticides have rough skin and look and smell delicious.
"How much will it cost?"
He's an old man who makes you tell him your desired price and finds price negotiations more enjoyable than anything else.
With the recent boom in lemon sour, the demand for domestic lemons is increasing. Recently, a certain sake brewery company ordered several tons of lemons, he boasted with a troubled look on his face. "Your lemons are in high demand, but how much do you want to pay?" is a difficult question to answer.
◉Kinzuna-san of Persimmon
Kanatsuna-san grows more than 10 kinds of persimmons in Isumi, next to mitosaya. He has appeared on our website several times, but originally, when I went to the town hall to ask if I could borrow some fallow farmland, I was introduced to Kanatsuna-san. I thought he would lend me his farmland, but for some reason he started selling me persimmons.
In the persimmon field next to the house, they grow citrus fruits such as sudachi, and rice in the rice paddies. They grow blueberries and kiwis in the garden. A persimmon field in the mountains is jointly operated by several people, and they apparently hold a persimmon harvesting event once a year. Speaking of which, they also grow stock flowers in a greenhouse during the winter. A busy man.
I would like to try making persimmon brandy by getting some persimmons that do not meet the shipping standards or have small scratches. The scent of persimmons is not immediately conjure up an image, but I hope to be able to condense the faint scent through distillation.
◉ Boso Jujien Mandarin Orange Garden
Boso Jujien is located on a mountain road in Ichihara City that leads from Mitosaya towards Uchibo. There are only warehouses and factories scattered along the road, and to be honest, it's surprising to see a farm like this.
As visitors can pick mandarin oranges, there is a constant stream of visitors by bus and car. Apparently, this is the only mandarin orange farm in Ichihara City, so initially there were few places that would handle them, and even when they did ship them, they weren't very popular as they weren't well known. That's when they came up with the idea of inviting people to come to the farm. The mandarin orange orchard is on flat land with well-maintained undergrowth, and visitors can pick any Unshu mandarin oranges they like that are certified as Chiba Eco Agricultural Products, and eat them. Not only that, they also sell and offer samples of processed products such as juice and jam. They also grow rice, which they turn into rice crackers and side dishes. There are ponies and dogs in the corner of the farm to welcome you. So even if there is nothing else around, you can still have fun for half a day by coming here.
However, the only flat areas where it is easy to harvest are the tourist fields. The slopes beyond are where the real mandarin oranges are grown. This year's summer was hot and rainy, so the season was short and the mandarins had to be picked quickly, so the mitosaya team was called in to help.
The varieties harvested are Nichinan, which have large fruit with firm skin and a typical mandarin orange appearance.
If the fruit is left on the tree, it can lead to disease, so they pick everything, big and small, even the ones that are damaged on the tree. It's easy to pick them by cutting them with scissors near the stem, but it's pretty hard to pick the ripe mandarins hanging from the trees in various positions on the slope, bending over to get under the tree, stretching to get to the fruit at the top. But the hard work was worth it, and the harvest was completed in half a day. The orange mountain turned deep green. But after this, they plan to make rice cakes to sell for the New Year, which is impressive.
◉ Herb seedlings
And we must not forget the producer, Naeme in Kamogawa. Mitosaya Eguchi is also a member of this agricultural corporation, which cultivates herbs and edible flowers without pesticides and collects natural materials in the countryside. The herbs planted in the greenhouse in the spring have grown quite large. Today is the end of the season, so we cut down the lemon basil, wormwood, Vietnamese coriander, Moroccan mint, purple sage, and other herbs. If we leave them like this, they will grow back again next year, bigger than before.
Herbs are most fragrant the moment they are harvested, and it's convenient to load them onto a van on the spot and take them home for processing.
At this point, I would also like to introduce Nakamura and Suzuki, who are preparing mitosaya's medicinal herbs for winter, but I will do so now when the season for harvesting becomes more plentiful.
Now that I have my manufacturing license, I can finally start preparing. To be honest, part of my goal has been to get the license, so when I was told I could now make it, I didn't know where to start.
What I started with was the paperwork again. Just when I thought I had finished, there was more to do.
The first thing to do was to measure and test the capacity of the tanks. Submit the list of items to be manufactured. Prepare the ledger. This bookkeeping is a tricky thing. It tells us where the raw materials come from, how much alcohol is produced when they are fermented in the containers, how much alcohol is produced when they are distilled, and in which containers they are aged. For each step of the process from raw material to finished product, the volume, alcohol content, and the container used to hold it must be recorded.
The strange thing is that there is no specific form to fill in. When I asked the person in charge at the tax office, he told me that there is no particular format because many breweries have been around for a long time and it is difficult to specify.
Since we don't know anything at all, it would have been better to have a specific item or format, but what's not there is not there. Even in the vastness of the Internet, there is no bookkeeping format for liquor production, and it seems that everyone is using what they inherited from their independent companies.
When I was at a loss, the officer in charge at the tax office helped me out by saying that he would try to prepare some forms from other companies. So far, I've been a checker and a receiver, but from now on, I'll be a supporter to make them stand on their own feet (and pay their taxes). I am grateful.
On the other hand, I'm enjoying the fruit purchasing. I've missed the fall harvest season, so I rush to contact the uncles of the growers. The fun thing about talking to them is that they are all creative and ingenious in making what they like. What I enjoy talking with them is that they all produce what they like, with a lot of creativity and ingenuity, not just because they like it, but because they have a general idea of what they want to produce, whether it is a crop that makes the most of the characteristics of the land, or a commercial perspective of what will sell. I get a lot of inspiration from talking to him.
Mr. Koizumi of Lemon
Mr. Koizumi grows lemons and oranges in the mountains of Kamogawa. There is a magnificent jujube tree in front of their house.
The bowl-shaped slope is ideally situated to receive the sun but block the wind. He grows citrus fruits such as lemons, blood oranges, and mandarins.
The lemons, which are grown using less pesticides, have a tough skin and smell delicious.
How much do you want for it?
"How much do you want to buy it for?" This inedible man is more than happy to negotiate the price with us.
With the recent lemon sour boom, the demand for domestic lemons is increasing. The other day he boasted to me with a troubled look on his face that a certain sake brewer had ordered several tons of them. It's not easy to say, "These lemons are so sought after, how much do you want for them? I'm not sure how much they want for it.
Persimmon no Kinzuna-san
Mr. Kanetsuna produces more than 10 varieties of persimmons in Isumi, next to mitosaya. When I went to the local government office to ask if I could rent some fallow farmland, I was introduced to Mr. Kanetsuna, who seemed to be willing to rent me farmland, but somehow ended up selling me persimmons.
He also grows citrus fruits such as sudachi (citrus fruit) in the persimmon field next to his house, and rice in the rice paddies. In his garden, he grows blueberries and kiwis. There is also a persimmon farm in the mountains, which is operated jointly by several people, and they hold a persimmon harvest event once a year. They also grow stock flowers in the greenhouses during the winter. Busy uncle.
I'd like to try making persimmon brandy from the ones that are not up to shipping standards or have small flaws. The aroma of persimmons doesn't come to mind, but I'm hoping that distillation will be able to condense the faint aroma.
Mikan's Boso Jujuen
In the middle of a mountain road in Ichihara City that leads from Mitosaya to Uchibo, there is Boso Jujuen. There are only a few warehouses and factories along the road, and to be honest, you would never expect to find a farm in such a place.
It is a farm that suddenly in the middle of nowhere. The farm is the only one of its kind in Ichihara City, but in the beginning, there were not many places that would sell oranges, and even when they did, they were not popular because they were not well known. The idea was to have people come to the farm. In the mikan fields, which are flat and well maintained with no undergrowth, people can freely pick and eat Onshu mandarins from the trees of their choice, which are certified as Chiba Eco-products. Not only that, they also sell processed products such as juice and jam, and offer tastings. In addition, they also produce rice to make arare (rice balls) and other delicacies. In the corner of the farm, there is a pony and a dog to welcome you. Even if there is nothing around you, you can enjoy yourself for half a day here.
However, the only flat land that is easy to harvest is the mandarin orange fields for tourists. The slopes beyond that are the realm of mandarin cultivation. This year's summer was hot and rainy, so the season was short and we had to pick them quickly.
The fruit we picked was the Hinan variety, which is a large, firm-skinned tangerine.
It is said that if you leave the fruit on the tree, diseases may occur from it, so we picked all the fruit, big and small, even if it was damaged on the tree. It's easy to pick them by cutting near the stem with scissors, but it's quite hard to get under the tree by bending down and stretching up to pick the tops. But it was worth the effort, and the harvest was completed in half a day. The orange pile had turned bright green. After this, they were going to make rice cakes to sell for the New Year.
Herb Naeme
This is an agricultural corporation that grows herbs and edible flowers without using pesticides, and also collects natural products in the satoyama. The herbs we planted in the greenhouse in the spring have all grown up. Today, at the end of the season, we cut down the lemon basil, wormwood, Vietnamese coriander, Moroccan mint, purple sage, and other herbs. We were told that if we did this, they would grow back next year, bigger and better than before.
Herbs are most fragrant the moment they are harvested. It is also convenient to load the herbs into the van right there and take them home for processing.
I'd like to introduce Mr. Nakamura and Mr. Suzuki, who are preparing the mitosaya herbs for winter, but I'll do that when the season changes, when there are more harvests.
