As a native of the midwestern U.S., I know very little about sushi. (Much
of it looks like what we call “bait” back in Indiana.) So I did not know that very few women prepare sushi in restaurants. This piece in Toronto Life explains why not:
Women’s hands are too warm to handle raw fish or sushi rice. Their perfume, makeup and lotions interfere with the food. Hormonal fluctuations wreak havoc on delicate Japanese food.
“Hormonal fluctuations” is, of course, a euphemism for menstrual cycle. Fortunately, men’s bodies have no hormonal variation and their hand temperatures are the same as their heart temperatures.
To be fair, the article does acknowledge that the number of women sushi chefs has increased in recent years in the U.S., and even in Japan – once women’s 10 p.m. curfew was lifted.
