Hiroyuki

I can't speak for other Asian breads, but I think many breads in Japan are made with yeast. Some bakeries boast of their using "natural yeast". It is true that Kimura-ya (famous bakery) uses sake lees to make their anpan. http://www.kimuraya-sohonten.co.jp/sakadane.html

The peppermint one had caught my eye ever since I took photos of the Hermes bottles, and I bought a bottle today. I made hi-chu with shochu, lemon juice, and the perpermint liqueur. It was good! I had three glasses. Now I'm drunk.

As I stated previously, Hakka Tou はっか糖 (Japanese mint candy) is a specialty of the former Shiozawa town. There are five sweet shops in the present Shiozawa area that make and sell this specialty. The history of Hakka Tou dates back to the Edo period, but the full-scale sale of the candy began in the Meiji period, when the use of large amounts of sugar was made possible. This is the present (12th) president of Aoki Shoten, one of the five shops. He is so intent on making high-quality Hakka Tou that he has been designated a "shoku no takumi" (food artisan) by AEON Co., Ltd. (a private company). Hakka Tou of Aoki Shoten: Inside the shop: Former president of the shop, now retired: The former president kindly talked to me about the history of Hakka Tou, his self-made mint oil, and other matters. Unfortunately, the shop now uses imported mint crystal, as well as the other shops. If you should ever come to Shiozawa, be sure to get Shiozawa Koshihikari rice, local sake (Kakurei from Aoki Shuzo and Takachiyo from Takachiyo Shuzo), and this specialty, Hakka Tou!! Don't buy cheaper, low-quality ones produced in surrounding areas. Say that you want SHIOZAWA Hakka Tou! Note that different mint candies are sold by the same name, Hakka Tou, in Japan. The specialty of Shiozawa is white, light, chalk-shaped, about 1 cm in diameter and 5 cm in length, and literally melts in your mouth due to the numerous little holes that run through it. All my family likes it; it's kind of addictive. Edited to add: Don't forget Shiozawa pongee and other Shiozawa fabrics.

I know that this is off-topic and has been discussed in the General Food Topics before, but I'd like to ask this question: In Japan, chopsticks are personal belongings. Every member of a family has their own chopsticks, that is, chopsticks are not shared among family members. Besides, I think it's rather unusual for someone to have more than one pair of personal chopsticks in the house at one time. So..., what do you think? Corrected "usual" to "unusual".

These three varieties were sold individually at the local supermarket. Left to right: Fuji, Ourin, and Sun Jona Gold. They were 98 yen each. Other varieties were sold too, but not individually but in plastic bags. I think the Sun Jona Gold is waxed and probably the Ourin too.

Just to clarify, I was asking about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is different from corn syrup. While corn syrup is hardly a health food, many people believe that HFCS is a harmful additive that causes a range of health problems, including obesity. I'm not sure if I believe HFCS is the evil substance it is made out to be, but it is certanily not something I want to consume very much of. Unfortunately, vaguely labeled sweetners are present in a huge array of products here. This is hardly surprising for stuff like sweet drinks and snacks, of course. But when I'm at the local supermarket and every single brand of bacon (or bread, or other non-sweet food) contains several kinds of unidentifiable sweetners, it's annoying. I'm not sure what you mean by this, Hiroyuki. Do you mean that it's not a problem because it isn't highly used, or because it's not harmful, or because people aren't concerned about it? ← Just like amino san tou (アミノ酸等) is a euphemism for MSG and other related additives, corn syrup (コーンシロップ) may be a euphemism for HFCS, but quite frankly, I have no idea whether this is true. I once searched for labeling regulations on corn syrup, but I came up with nothing. That's a good question!! I'm not sure either! Come to think of it, I think I can say: It isn't used as much as in the United States. Most Japanese including me have no idea whether it's if harmful. Few Japanese are concerned about it. Ask any Japanese, and you will get a strange look.

My family's chopsticks, together with waribashi (disposable chopsticks) for use by guests: (Sorry for the photo.) Our chopsticks are all made of wood and are coated with resin. (I forgot the type of resin used.) Mine, bought by my wife, are dishwashable and have a textured surface near the tip, and are relatively expensive (around 500 yen). It's about 23 cm in length, which is probably the standard length for adults. My children's chopsticks are about 100 yen each and about 12.5 cm in length, which is again probably the standard length for children. My wife's are much cheaper, because they are from a pack of five pairs sold at the 100-yen shop. I think that most Japanese now use wooden chopsticks with resin coating. The waribashi is 20.5 cm in length, probably the standard length. Chopsticks for cooking purposes: They are all made of bamboo. They vary in length from 24 cm to 32 cm. The bottom pair, made of wood, was once made by someone, but because it is not of a coated type, it is now used for cooking purposes. Special chopsticks for making tempura: They are made of wood, and cost me about 500 yen. It's about 37 cm in length.

The Japanese often peel fruits before eating, and I am no exception. The juice ran down my wrist when I peeled that pear (naturally) . That variety, Niitaka, is particularly big; other varieties are smaller, probably about 7-8 cm in diameter. Peaches are often sold in styrofoam netting because they are highly susceptible to bruises, but other fruits are: Sold individually without netting, Prepackaged in plastic bags (containing four or five pieces or more), or Prepackaged in plastic containers or plates, which are collected at the register. That particular pear was sold individually.

Shiozawa Shinmai Campaign ends on November 3rd, but don't be discouraged! Even after the campaign ends, you can still eat 100% Shiozawa Koshihikari rice at many of the restaurants here.

November 3rd is Culture Day (Bunka no Hi) in Japan. This day is a special one for Shiozawa because Shiozawa Sangyo Matsuri (Shiozawa Industrial Fair) is held on this day each year. Flyer: Echigo Mochi Buta booth: Echigo Mochi Buta is soft and juicy pork, a specialty of Niigata, as this board says: Shiitake and nameko mushroom sawdust beds: I wanted to buy some, but they were too bulky to carry. Shokumi kensa (palatability inspection) booth: Bring 300 g of your brown rice, and they will measure its palatability. Seppu Miso, made from locally produced soybeans, and it's additive-free. I just had to buy one. Beside, these people are acquaintances of mine. My children made manju. Hakka tou (Japanese mint candies), a specialty of Shiozawa. You can have as many as you can get for 200 yen. Do you know what this is? Daihatsu Midget! It will make those Japanese who were born in the 30s of Showa nostalgic for the good old days. Giant pot used to make soup: By the time we got there, the soup was all gone! Mochi making began. First kneading the steamed mochi rice well: Then pounding in rhythm: Some of our purchases: Top, left to right: Enoki take (new variety called Yuki Boushi), Hakka Tou Bottom, left to right: Seppu Miso, brown enoki, kodai mai (lit. ancient rice) called kaori mai

Yeah, it looks standard, with carrots, onions, potatoes, and meat, but those black sesame seeds look innovative. You don't like fukujin zuke, by the way?

DID YOU KNOW THAT: The annual per capita rice production stands at about 60 kg. This is in great contrast to the Edo Period, when a man was supposed to eat 150 kg (ik-koku 一石 or one koku) of rice in a year. The rice paddy area needed to produce one koku of rice was it-tan 一反 (one tan), which is approximately 1,000 m2. Due to advances in agriculture, 420 to 500 kg of rice can be harvested from the same area today. One more thing: Ichi-gou 一合 or one gou (= 180 ml) of rice was the amount of rice that a man was supposed to have in one meal. The rice paddy area needed to produce one gou of rice was hito tsubo 一坪 one tsubo (3.3 m2), which is equivalent to two 6-foot square tatami mats. Interesting?

This is getting quite off-topic, but let me say this: My present mirin-fuu choumiryou (mirin-like seasoning) does not contain corn syrup according to its label, but it does contain toumitsu (糖蜜 in Kanji), which is molasses(?). I have found that some labels are quite straight-forward. Fo example, this cocoa lists corn syrup (コーンシロップ in Japanese) on its label.

That's interesting. Someone post some pictures of that "show", like I did in the Fish and other seafood thread in the General Food Topics Forum.

The fact is, the use of corn syrup is not much of a problem here in Japan. The JAS specifies corn syrup as follows: ブドウ糖果糖液糖 果糖含有率（糖のうちの果糖の割合）が 50% 未満のもの。 果糖ブドウ糖液糖 果糖含有率が 50% 以上 90% 未満のもの。 高果糖液糖 果糖含有率が 90% 以上のもの。 砂糖混合異性化液糖 上記の液糖に 10% 以上の砂糖を加えたもの（その液糖がブドウ糖果糖液糖なら砂糖混合ブドウ糖果糖液糖）。 from here.

hhhhmmm! I remember ALWAYS buying a strawberry shortcake from Kyj's bakery in Brookhaven Pa before driving to my grandmas house on Christmas eve. Maybe its a Russian Immigrant thing? BTW I met Colonel Sanders as a child.... ← By strawberry shortcake, torakris meant Japanese strawberry shortcake, that is, strawberry sponge cake.

Lunch menu for next week at my kids' elementary school: Nov. 6: Curry pilaf, wakame soup, potato salad, meat balls dressed in ketchup 670 kcal 7: Rice, soy milk soup, kirizai (local dish of natto, pickles, sesame seeds, etc.), potato corokke, mikan 659 8: Sweet potato rice, whisked-egg soup, kamikami (chew-chew) salad, grilled hokke (Atka mackerel) This menu, "kamikami kondate", is meant to teach the pupils to chew well. 562 9: Rice, satoimo soup, goma ae (dish dressed in sesame sauce), mackerel simmered with miso, Japanese pear 628 10: Barley noodles, chicken soup, boiled spinach, gobo daigaku (coated with syrup?) 644 The rice is Shiozawa Koshihikari rice, of course. I envy my kids...

So, did you actually buy any of those varieties??

I had assumed that umeshu was made with "white liquor" (basically the same as kou-rui shochu with a high proof of up to 35). My mother used to use "white liquor" anyway. Only today did I learn that an increasing number of people now use other alcoholic beverages like otsu-rui shochu and nihonshu (sake). They say that such beverages make better umeshu. I also learned that the local brewery, Aoki Shuzo, here in Shiozawa makes umeshu using its specially-brewed sake. I'm very interested in it, and may actually buy one bottle...

Oh, you mean the one in one of the photos here? The 720-ml bottle was 1,449 yen including 5% consumption tax.

I underestimated how wet it was in the winter here in the snowry region in the initial years after I settled here . I even used a humidifier in my condo unit in the winter... I ended up getting a lot of items in my drawers moldy. (Silly Tokyo boy...) We also have this long-standing Gardening thread in the General Food Topics Forum.

Me, either. Is that some kind of konjac (konnyaku in Japanese) noodles like these?

Needless to say, you can use canned mackerel the way you want. Some of my wife's uses for saba mizuni: Put in curry Put in zoni (soup with mochi in it) My wife usually serves saba misoni with grated daikon.

I was me that asked torakris to provide an explanation of canned mackerel in that thread. Post on saba mizuni and here is the post on saba misoni. The beauty of canned mackerel is that you can eat the bones too.

According to one site describing honzen ryori, there can be up to sanjuu juugo sai (three soups and fifteen dishes) .