Harvesting perilla seeds. A crunchy side dish for rice that’s only available in the fall.

Every year, a lot of shiso grows in our garden.

Throughout the summer, we’ve been using the fragrant leaves as a garnish and in cooking, but as September arrives and we begin to sense the first signs of fall, small seeds start to form on the shiso plants.

This morning, I’m harvesting those “shiso berries.”

If you look at the photo, you can see many small berries lined up along the stem. We harvest them when they’re still soft—just when you can feel the seeds inside when you touch them with your finger. We pick them before they get too hard and miss the perfect timing.

Shiso berries are a treat unique to fall.

At our house, we pickle the harvested shiso berries in soy sauce.

Although they’re tiny, they have a unique, poppy texture when you put them in your mouth, and with every chew, a subtle, refreshing scent of shiso spreads through your mouth.

They go perfectly with freshly cooked rice.

Just a small amount on top of plain white rice is enough. It’s simple, but it’s our family’s favorite autumn side dish—one we look forward to every year when this season rolls around.

These tiny shiso seeds are nutritious, too

Shiso is an aromatic herb that has long been a staple on Japanese dining tables.

Shiso leaves contain beta-carotene, as well as vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols. Additionally, one of the compounds responsible for shiso’s distinctive refreshing aroma is “perillaldehyde.”

Not only do the shiso seeds offer the same distinctive aroma as the leaves, but they also contain lipids, including alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid).

Considering how shiso has long been cherished as a food, the very act of enjoying it from the leaves to the seeds in accordance with the seasons may be a form of traditional wisdom.

From the field to the dinner table that very day

From spring through summer, we enjoy shiso leaves, and as fall approaches, we turn to shiso seeds.

Even from a single shiso plant, the way we enjoy it changes with the seasons.

We harvest what’s in the garden, use it in that day’s meals, and pickle any leftovers in soy sauce to enjoy little by little. It’s nothing special, but perhaps this daily routine is a small secret to living a long and healthy life.

This year, too, I plan to pickle shiso seeds in soy sauce and enjoy the flavors of fall.

Freshly cooked rice topped with crunchy shiso seeds.

For us, it’s one of the flavors that signals the arrival of fall.