sanrensho

More photos? It looks like you got a meatless pho. Regardless, I'm looking forward to future reviews.

I second the plastic paddles with nibs. And they have the added advantage of not needing to be washed before using.

Churn out a selection of financiers and madeleines. Cocoa, lemon, coconut, fruit-filled, etc. The smell alone will slay them...

It is all in what you are used to. I am used to European cakes which have far less sugar than American cakes. I have only had success with reducing sugar. My cakes are never dry. Ditto here. I guess I'll just continue to enjoy my "impaired" European and Japanese cakes.

I love kasutera too, but I don't think it's very representative of "Japanese cake." Kasutera is eclipsed in popularity by more modern cakes such as strawberry shortcake, Japanese-style souffle cheesecakes, mont blanc, choux pastries and chiffon cakes. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find any bakery/pastry shop that sells freshly made kasutera.

I'm not Jason, but I often bake from the CakeChef site, although it's only in Japanese. Sadly, I'm not aware of any Japanese pastry books that have been translated into English. There are a few Japanese cake recipes floating around online in English, but nothing very comprehensive that I know of. You might like this recipe for Japanese souffle cheesecake: http://www.kyokoskitchen.com/recipes/recip...esecake〈=en As far as specific authors to stay away from, well, let's just say that I tend to be wary of recipes that call for 2 or more cups of sugar for an 8-inch torte, for example...then adding fillings and frosting on top of that.

Also, it helps to work with recipes from a familiar author or source. Some authors just have a lighter touch with the sugar, while others... As Jason alluded to, I usually don't need to adjust the sugar level in Japanese cake recipes, which is a great boon (for me).

I regularly reduce the sugar in North American cake recipes by 30% or more. It's a taste issue, I love my dessert and dislike tooth-achingly sweet creations. As with eating chocolate, less (sugar) is more (taste). I will generally just go ahead and bake with the lesser amount of sugar, or bring it down in subsequent bakings starting at about 20% for cakes. After awhile, you will get a feeling for how much sugar seems right for you based on the size/volume of a cake.

Barring further knowledge of this particular initiative, I don't have a problem with the idea of a voluntary certification system. You can bet that it will only be relevant to a very small portion of Japanese restaurants--well under 1% of restaurants. I wonder if the real reason for this initiative is to create a voluntary licensing system for Japanese chefs working abroad. Not a bad idea if it gives an aspiring Japanese chef the opportunity to get real hands-on training in Japan, under a structured system. Furthermore, instead of having Japanese go abroad and become "Japanese chefs" with no/minimal training, it might convince a few to at least get some decent training before doing so. I'm for anything that elevates the standard of Japanese cuisine abroad--provided that it's voluntary. I'm under no illusion that this initiative will make a huge impact, but it could have a positive impact, albeit slight.

Actually, I have a question for you. Can you clear up the question of rice grades and what is meant by "4th grade" koshihikari rice? Also, if you could provide a link in Japanese, that would be great. I didn't find any information in English on the -kyu grading system for Japanese rice.

I actually wrote Prof. Chinen about his article and he was nice enough to reply last year. Here's his reply, I hope he doesn't mind being quoted: "I put Japanese tastes and beliefs to the test in a series of experiments conducted in: Sunnyvale and Sacramento (N = 161), and Japan (N=130). I eventaully asked 291 Japanese nationals to taste two portions of Koshihikari (4th grade Koshihikari grown in Kamo-city, Niigata vs. Koshihikari grown in Sacramento valley,which is equivalent to 4th grade rice in Japan). Two rice cookers (IH rice cookers to avoid criticism, the most expensive ones available in CA at that time) were used for the research." The bold is my own emphasis. EDIT: Fat Guy's original link is dead, but I previously posted another link that is buried in this thread. Here it is: http://www.csus.edu/news/020503rice.htm Here's another link that describes Chinen's results and also quotes another tasting result. http://siu.typepad.jp/podcast/2006/06/index.html "Japanese who travel to California are amazed by the large number of sushi restaurants there. They are also impressed by the high quality of California rice used in these Japanese restaurants. California’s Japanese rice is Koshihikari and is similar to that grown in Japan. Professor Ken Chinen, a Japanese university professor in California, decided to conduct an experiment to determine if Japanese Koshihikari tastes better than California Koshihikari. He conducted his test with 161 Japanese citizens who are living in California. Before the test, almost all of these Japanese citizens said they preferred Japanese rice to California rice. These Japanese citizens were given samples of cooked rice and were not told whether the rice was Japanese rice or California rice. Then they were asked whether the rice was Japanese or California rice. Forty percent of these 161 made a mistake and said the rice they tasted was from Japan, when in fact, the rice was from California. In other words, almost half of the Japanese citizens could not tell the difference between California and Japanese rice. In February 2003, the Japan Rice Association conducted a survey in Japan about the quality of California rice sold in Japan. They used a scale of 0 - 100, with 100 the best tasting rice. Japanese who tasted Koshihikari rice from California gave it a score of 78, and those who tasted Akitakomachi rice from California gave it a score of 74. These same tasters gave a score of 74 to Koshihikari rice grown in Niigata and a score of 72 for Akitakomachi rice grown in Akita."

I have yet to bake this bread, but RLB has recently posted about it on her blog. She also gives weight equivalents. http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2006/11/holy_bread.html

I have to second Hiroyuki's recommendations for nitsuke and nabe (hotpot). The latter can be used with all kinds of fish and you can play with a lot of different condiments for variety. And you get your vegetables at the same time!

Congrats, filipe! I suspected you would come out with the top prize, and the desert looks great.

Hiroyuki, how would you compare the taste of that umeshu compared with a familiar umeshu, like Choya? Not just sweetness but other flavor notes. What was the alcohol content? Also, you could technically say that umeshu is an apricot liquer. Although "ume" is most often referred to as "plum," it is more closely related to the apricot (from what I understand).

I don't think you'll have any problem freezing the puree. I have some in the freezer but haven't defrosted it yet...maybe this weekend.

Chocolat. Items to pass over my desk today: Cemoi dark w/coffee, cashew praline and pepper, small bar of Italian gianduja with hazelnuts, small bar of Arosa milk w/raisins and hazelnuts.

Dorie, I've enjoyed your writing through the two Pierre Herme books and look forward to reading more of your books. I especially appreciate how you've taken the time to respond in the Herme thread and the thread about your latest book. I have a multi-part question about recipe management. 1. What do you use to track recipes during the development process? Do you keep copious handwritten notes and/or record everything you bake? Or do you use some sort of software to track recipe changes? 2. Do you have your own personal system for recipe management? Or do you rely on commercial software for this? 3. The topic of metric units (specifically weights) came up in the thread about your latest book. Do you actually bake using volumes, or do you mostly rely on metric weights? Or does it just depend on the situation?

Japanese baking recipes are absolutely made for use with a scale, as they primarily rely on weights (at least the ones I use). Even the most basic digital scale should come with a tare function, and it takes up no more space than softcover book.

That looks and sounds great. I know my Japanese taste testers would go crazy for it.

It sounds like you're referring to agedashi tofu. I would suggest posting in the Japan forum. There is one previous thread on the subject, but only two posts in it.

^^^Damn you, posting gai lan porn before lunch. And we have none in the house at the moment.

Chocodirect seems to fit the bill that Robert was inquiring about. They only ship within Canada and charge a flat fee of just over $5. Shipping to Vancouver is about 5 business days. Great clearance section, nice folks and they're very generous with freebies.

The Suntory Zen (sold outside of Japan) appears to be a different beast from the two types of green tea liqeurs that Suntory sells in Japan. For instance, Suntory's PR indicates that it contains lemongrass. The two green tea liqueurs that Suntory sells in Japan are the Sasa and Japone liqeurs. The latter is supposed to be less sweet than the Sasa liqueur and more suitable as a drinking liqueur. (I have tasted none of the above and am only going on Suntory's info.) http://www.suntory.co.jp/news/1999/7437.html

*Paging Canucklehead, paging Canucklehead...*