JAPANESE FOOD GLOSSARY AND FOOD TERMS Aji-No-Moto: The Japanese name for monosodium glutamate, white crystalline powder prepared from wheat gluten and sugar beet residue, that heightens flavors without adding one of its own. Cha: Tea. In Japan, green tea is commonly used. Chanoyu: Ancient Japanese tea ceremony strongly influenced by ...
Meals and Customs in Japan
JAPANESE MEALS AND CUSTOMS Many factors intrude on the strict maintenance of the traditional meals and customs of the Japanese; nonetheless, there is an increasing Japanese pride together with the delight and curiosity of foreigners that is causing even nisei (second-generation Japanese) to turn to the traditions of their ancestors. ...
Foods Commonly Used in Japan
JAPANESE COMMONLY USED FOODS The staples of the traditional Japanese diet are rice, fish and seafood, vegetables and tea. Although some meats were taken occasionally as medicine, and records show that the people often hunted and ate wild animals, it was not until the American diplomat Townsend Harris’s visit to ...
Japanese Cooking Methods
JAPANESE COOKING METHODS There are abundant opportunities for creativity in Japanese cooking. There is great joy in tasting something for the first time and a concentration of skills in producing an original dish or garnish. It is considered commonplace to repeat what was a successful dish — one must always ...
Special Occasions in Japan
JAPAN’S SPECIAL OCCASIONS The Japanese constitution of 1946 guarantees religious freedom to all as well as separation of religion and state. Virtually all Japanese, except those converted to Christianity (numbering more than one million), are Shintoists. But Shintoism, indigenous to Japan, is regarded as a cult rather than a religion, ...
Domestic Life in Japan
JAPANESE DOMESTIC LIFE Present-day mass production of everything from electrical appliances to instant and frozen foods has made the urban Japanese kitchen similar to any in the West. The main difference is size. In Japan, refrigeration and storage space are minimal for several reasons: the prevalence of small-size homes, the ...
Foods in Japan
JAPANESE FOODS DAIRY PRODUCTS Although dairy products have been known in Japan since ancient times, they have never been an important part of the diet. More recently (since the American occupation after World War II) more milk is consumed but still not significantly. Perhaps in its place, the many products ...
Japanese Food and Culture
FOOD AND CULTURE IN JAPAN The Japanese call their homeland Dai Nihon or Nippon, meaning “origin of the sun.” It is from this name that Japan has also been called “Land of the Rising Sun.” It is an apt name. For in the short span of about a hundred years, ...
Typical Food of Sicily and Sardinia in Italy
SICILY AND SARDINIA These two islands represent an unspoiled tradition of what is believed to be the earliest Italian cuisine. The cuisine stems from many influences, especially the early Greeks who conquered Sicily and the early Phoenicians (Lebanese) who conquered Sardinia. It is a tradition dating back more than 2,000 ...
Typical Naples-Campagna Foods in Italy
NAPLES-CAMPAGNA The Neapolitans who emigrated to other lands also made famous their city’s two great dishes: pizza and spaghetti. They also popularized pommarola, the tomato sauce that graces pizza and most pasta dishes. Many North Americans, therefore, are surprised by the great variety of foods in Italy. But it is ...