is the fatty meat of tuna served as sushi 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). The etymology of the name comes from the fact that the meat has a creamy texture. According to the Sushi: The Complete Guide (liberal translation of é®Âã»鮨ãÂȋÂÂãÂÂ-ãÂÂãÂÂã®äºÂå ¸) by Masuo Yosino, a customer at the Yoshino Sushi Honten named it as toro melts in your mouth.
Tuna only began to be used as a sushi topping in the Edo period where the lean meat was primarily used as the fatty meat spoiled more quickly, making it unusable for sushi or sashimi. It was instead used in dishes such as which was sold very cheaply. It was of such low value that it was even called because it was said not even a cat would eat it.
This prefence for the lean meat of tuna continued into the Shà Âwa era when freezing technology advanced, allowing the fatty meat to be transported long distances. As a Western-style diet began to spread, fattier meats became preferred. Today, 700,000 tons of tuna (both lean and fatty) are consumed a year in Japan.
Toro is subdivided into two grades:
The meat from the inner layers of the fish, called , is more reddish and has less fat (with 14% fat in bigeye).
Toro from wild tuna is a seasonal product: winter tuna is considered to be better, summer one is less fatty.
Except for the tuna fish, other fatty fish can be called "toro". For instance:
There is no exact boundary for "toro" to define the type of the meat. It is used as the sales strategy, using the image of toro is luxury. Except for tuna, other fatty fishes can be called toro too.
In addition, the sauce, which is made by the belly and the fat of tuna, is called âÂÂNegitoroâÂÂ. Most people think that its name came from its oily texture, but there are another version.