Tamura no egoma oil / Tamura no egoma abura

"Tamura no Egoma Oil" is an edible oil that preserves the aroma of egoma ⁽¹⁾ and has excellent flavor almost free of odd taste caused by oxidization.
　In Japan, egoma has been cultivated for a long time mainly to eat its seeds. The oil was used as fuel for lamps and hairdressing but was not widely used for food. The producing area has promoted egoma cultivation for oil pressing and is today recognized as a production center of egoma oil.

"Tamura no Egoma Oil" is produced using black or white egoma seeds that are cultivated in Tamura City using seeds collected by members of the Tamura no Egoma Promotion Council at their farms.
　Oil is produced by pressing fresh or roasted seeds that are cultivated and harvested according to the cultivation standards of the Council.

Egoma prefers a cool and humid climate and has been actively cultivated in the Abukuma region ⁽²⁾, where it has anchored as a native species.
　In 1997, Shuhei Murakami, a producer native to Tamura City, visited South Korea and saw that egoma was being cultivated as a source of edible oil and recognized the potential of the local culture of egoma as an edible oil.
　In 1998, he introduced an oil presser from South Korea and established the oil-pressing technology. He taught it to local producers and promoted commercialization. To improve the quality of egoma oil, strict quality control is implemented including selection of harvested egoma seeds, appropriate storage management, and production to order besides oil-pressing technology. The producing area has expanded to the entire city of Tamura.
　Active efforts are also made on training successors. As of 2022, approximately 210kg is produced by 30 farmers and 5 oil pressing engineers.

1. Egoma (Perilla frutescens) is a species of Perilla native to East Asia. The leaves resemble those of Shiso, another variety of Perilla frutescens, and are eaten soy marinated, fried into tempura, and as a spice added to dressing, etc. The oil extracted from seeds is also used for food as egoma oil.
2. The Abukuma region mainly consists of the Abukuma Mountains, which extend at least 170km from North to South from southern Miyagi Prefecture to the northern part of Ibaraki Prefecture and comprise mountains taller than 800m. The highlands are characterized by cool temperatures and low annual precipitation (rainfall and snowfall).