Though plastic sushi grass is a modern development, the idea behind it has been around for centuries. Flowers, leaves, fruits and branches have been used to line vessels in Japanese cuisine for over a millennium, according to Nancy Singleton Hachisu, a James Beard Award–winning food journalist and an expert in authentic Japanese cuisine.
The use of leaves to separate food, however, became common during the Edo period (1603–1864). “Originally, the Kanto region (around Tokyo) used sasanoha [leaves from the bamboo plant], while the Kansai region (around Kyoto) used haran.”
As a native English speaker, I’m not entirely sure if ‘denature’ is or is not the best word, but I totally understand what you mean.
And honestly, off the top of my head, I can’t even think of a better word, so denature(d) works I guess.
Still, what’s wrong with bamboo leaves or other natural things? Why plastic now?
It’s the right word.
The acids denature the proteins causing them to become firm and opaque just as if they had been cooked.
There are some dishes, like Ceviche, that use this effect intentionally (“cooking” fish in lemon juice).
Money. Plastic is cheaper, easier to store, doesn’t spoil, etc
I’ve literally seen cotton paper money that’s older and still more durable than the dryrotted plastic slides at our city park.
Please don’t feed me a line of shit by trying to say plastic ‘doesn’t spoil’
That’s a false equivalence.
That hot dog sealed in epoxy is like 5 years old and still looks the same. But the piece of wood I left in my yard last October is rotted and useless now.
Therefore, hot dogs are stronger than lumber.
Logic!
Paper money left in wet conditions rots.
Plastic out in the sun and weather conditions breaks down a lot faster than in a storage room.
You know what’s funny about the plastic cards? They come with an expiration date, often just a mere 4 years after you got the card.
Yet you can still spend a cotton paper bill from 50 years ago, assuming you weren’t stupid enough to store it in a swamp or a rat infested basement…