sushi chefs generally prefer rice that has aged for a few months after harvest because it’s drier. To sushi purists, perhaps the most important factor is not the type of sushi rice but how it was dried. Most Japanese rice today is force-dried with hot air before milling. The purists complain that this causes the surface of the grains to become pasty. When vinegar is added to force-dried rice after cooking, the pasty surface of the grains can form a membrane, blocking
