What is a Sushi Robot?
Sushi robot is an automated mechanical device that produces several types of sushi or assists in sushi preparation and can surpass the production ability of human labor. For example, an Autec sushi machine can produce up to 2400 nigiri rice balls per hour.
Birth of Sushi Robots
Sushi robots originated in Japan during the 1980’s as the country entered a new era for sushi restaurants. Traditionally, majority of Japanese customers believed sushi was a time-honored delicacy, strictly served and created by the hands of a trained sushi chef. However, with the popularity of the kaiten sushi, Japanese diners quickly became accustomed to machine made sushi and the combination of the two inventions proved to be a successful and popular endeavor throughout the country. During this period, Autec was one of the first companies to develop the idea of a machine-made sushi for residential use. The concept quickly developed into a commercial sushi robot line for the company, fulfilling the increasing demand for Japan’s sushi restaurants, department stores, super markets and eventually international institutions.
How Sushi became popular in the Western World
The first city to adopt sushi cuisine in the western culture was Los Angeles in the 1960’s followed by a west coast sushi boom in the 1970’s with the invention of the “California Roll.” A dish envisioned by a Little Tokyo restaurant sushi chef, the “California Roll” was created for his clientele who found seaweed and raw fish was too adventurous for their taste. By rolling the seaweed on the inside of the rice and replacing raw seafood with cooked ingredients, the “California Roll” prompted a westernized sushi movement and craze across the nation by the 1980’s. This movement inspired sushi chefs across the nation to expand their selection of sushi rolls geared towards Americans by incorporating non-traditional and cooked ingredients, thus popularizing the cuisine further to the world as a trendy and healthy dining option.
Sushi became such a staple in the world’s daily lives that the cuisine was available not only at restaurants but began emerging at super markets, convenience stores and department stores, creating a demand that human labor could not fulfill.
Maki Robots
Maki sushi (also referred to as a sushi roll) is a dish where sushi rice is spread across a dried seaweed sheet and raw fish or other cooked ingredients are rolled inside and then sliced into bite size pieces. Although the process seems simple enough, it is a challenge for most novice chefs to evenly layer the sushi rice across the dried seaweed (or other non-traditional wrappers) and roll it carefully without smashing the rice to maintain the fluffiness. Our maki robots are integrated with distinctive technological features that only exists in our products to achieve the results of a trained chef.
