Japan to certify cuisine but no 'sushi police'
This is the main point of the story:

"Our objective is to promote Japanese food, not eliminate Japanese restaurants."

The campaign when first announced was mocked by some Western media as a futile effort at a time when Japanese food is growing in popularity across the world.

To qualify for certification, applicants are required to use Japanese rice and seasoning along with traditional ingredients. Restaurants must also show knowledge of Japanese recipes and proper hygiene.

[...]

Japanese officials and tourists have voiced growing alarm at what they see as vile imitations of their cuisine overseas, fearing that Japanese food will go the way of Chinese cuisine in North America and Europe.


Fine, whatever (ps did I ever tell you about that documentary I wanted to see about Chinese restaurants outside China? I still haven't seen it.). People who care will look for the symbol, and people who don't won't be affected.

Here are the two points I am going to comment on, with my comments:

1. The ubiquitous California roll is a case in point. The vegetarian sushi dish, which replaces sushi with avocado or cucumbers and may include cream cheese, is unrecognisable to most Japanese.
My comment is: Most california rolls I have seen seem to include crab or imitation crab or something in addition to the avocado/cuke and so are not vegetarian. Too bad. Or am I wrong?


2. "It's important to share the heart that goes into authentic Japanese food with chefs around the world, but we can't force them," said Yukio Hattori, a board member of the certification body and president of Hattori Nutrition College.
My comment is: Dude! That's the guy from Iron Chef! The expert commentator and sometimes challenger who must douse announcer Kenji Fukui's excited flames of ignorance of with the extinguisher of knowledge and perspective. I can't believe that wasn't mentioned in the article.

Speaking of TV, why is Family Guy on at 6 or 7 when it's supposed to be the Simpsons? Boo.

Labels: food, intercultural interaction, Iron chef, simpsons, tv, yahoo news

- posted by k @ 6:13 PM

 
Random things

1. A review of whole grain and multi-grain pastas. Barilla Plus is found to be the winner for both taste and nutrition--containing even flax seed for omega-3 but not being too gritty. That's something I can get down with! Ok, I will pick it up next time at Safeway.
2. Ikea Hacker.

Labels: creativity, diets, food, ikea, nutrition, other peoples' blogs

- posted by k @ 2:40 PM

 
Wensleydale: a surprisingly cheesy cheese



So, Saturday at Sainsbury I saw they had cheese in the deli section, so I asked the woman there to cut me a small piece of Wensleydale with cranberries (I didn't see any plain Wensleydale, and I generally like cranberries, so it wasn't too risky). It is both soft and a little crumbly, sort of like very cold butter. The flavor is mild, too, somewhat like butter, but sour, since it's cheese. The mild flavor does make a good cheese to pair with fruits, and indeed this seems to be how it is often found (e.g. the embedded cranberries).

One thing I am noticing so far is that all the British cheeses I've tried so far (mild Cheddar, mature Cheddar, Red Leicester, Double Gloucester, and now Wensleydale) taste like, well....cheese! There's a definite family resemblance among the cheeses; they all taste a little familiar, like Cheddar, Jack or Colby. Now stop laughing at me for a minute. Think of a Swiss cheese (e.g. Gruyere or Emmentaler)--they taste really different, even though they're also hard cheeses! Similarly, Gouda. But Swiss cheese and Gouda and Brie (and I think Edam, though I need to confirm this) are all continental cheeses, not British cheeses, though there are now British versions of Brie and Camembert. I am sure, of course, that Stilton will be distinctively different, but aside from that, do all British cheeses taste cheesy? Maybe it's just that I've been picking hard cheeses that will melt and that, of course, I'm frightened of frightening cheeses. I thought Wensleydale would be different, though, since the texture is different. Hmm. Not sure what is next on my list to explore.

Labels: British cheese, cheese, food

- posted by k @ 8:29 AM