Sudachi & Kabosu

Sudachi & Kabosu

SUDACHI (left) & KABOSU (right) The Japanese have consumed a variety of citrus for millennia, enjoying both the juice and peels of the fruit. Many who reside outside Japan have become familiar with yuzu, a member of the Rutaceae (citrus) family primarily prized for...
Watermelon

Watermelon

Watermelon Rind TSUKÉMONO Making use of every edible part of a food — here the rind as well as the juicy flesh of watermelon — is part of the Japanese notion of kansha (appreciation). More than just a frugal approach to limiting food waste, kansha is a...
Bounty of the Seas

Bounty of the Seas

Celebrating the Bounty of the Seas The inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been consuming sea vegetables –KAISŌ 海藻 — for millennia. Early evidence of consumption of aramé, wakamé, and hijiki has been found in burial mounds dating back to the Jomon...
Frozen Ices

Frozen Ices

Frozen Ices made with AMA-ZAKÉ Ama-zaké has been part of the Japanese pantry for thousands of years. During the Muromachi period (1392-1573) ama-zaké consumption took on a regional identity: In and around Kyoto, it was sipped in the summertime as a stamina drink to...
Cold Noodles Part Three: Hiyashi Chuka

Cold Noodles Part Three: Hiyashi Chuka

冷やし中華・Hiyashi Chūka For centuries, the Japanese have adapted and adopted foods and food ways from many culinary traditions. Asia in general, and China in particular, has probably been the greatest source of “inspiration” over the years. In fact the highly popular...
UMÉSHU Plum Wine

UMÉSHU Plum Wine

梅酒づくり Uméshu-Zukuri In Japan, early June is the time for UMÉ SHIGOTO (plum work), transforming the harvest of not-yet-fully-ripe fruit into a sweet liqueur (uméshu)  and/or sour, lip-puckering salt-cured uméboshi. If you are able to source green, not-fully-ripe...