Jump to content

  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

What do Japanese babies eat?

Culinista

By Culinista
in Japan: Cooking & Baking

 Share

Recommended Posts

GlorifiedRice

GlorifiedRice

Posted
Posted

Everything I ever remember reading about the accompaniments to sushi

(Gari, Wasabi, Soy Sauce and the Vinegar in the Rice) have said that those arent just for flavor, they are antibacterial and antiparasitic and are eaten with the sushi to make it safe to eat...

Wawa Sizzli FTW!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JasonTrue

JasonTrue

Posted
Posted

Surely true for the wasabi, but I believe the vinegar is used to simulate the fermented rice-fish combination that was the most notable characteristic in the dish from which sushi evolved.

Everything I ever remember reading about the accompaniments to sushi

(Gari, Wasabi, Soy Sauce and the Vinegar in the Rice) have said that those arent just for flavor, they are antibacterial and antiparasitic and are eaten with the sushi to make it safe to eat...

Jason Truesdell

Blog: Pursuing My Passions

Take me to your ryokan, please

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MomOfLittleFoodies

MomOfLittleFoodies

Posted
Posted (edited)

Maybe I'm weird, but I don't like the flavor of wasabi at all... and I generally love spicy foods. The 3 of my kids that like spicy food don't care for it either.

My husband, on the other hand, isn't big on most spicy foods, but loves wasabi.

Edited by MomOfLittleFoodies (log)

Cheryl

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nakedsushi

nakedsushi

Posted
Posted
Maybe I'm weird, but I don't like the flavor of wasabi at all... and I generally love spicy foods. The 3 of my kids that like spicy food don't care for it either.

My husband, on the other hand, isn't big on most spicy foods, but loves wasabi.

That doesn't sound weird at all. My grampa is the same way. He won't touch traditional spicy food, but he can go through half a tube of wasabi in a week. I used to be like that until I started eating more chili-spicy foods. I think it's because wasabi is spicy in a different way. To me, chili-spicy foods are a "hot my mouth is burning" spicy, but wasabi is a cooling "help my nose stings" type of spicy.

nakedsushi.net (not so much sushi, and not exactly naked)
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JasonTrue

JasonTrue

Posted
Posted (edited)

Also, most of the prepared wasabi sold both in Japan and abroad is little more than mustard, Western horseradish, and food coloring, sometimes with a token bit of real wasabi thrown in, such as in SB's "hon-wasabi".

The prepared stuff is a bit spicy thanks to the mustard-heavy blend, but unadulterated wasabi is more pungent than spicy.

(sorry for helping this continue to veer off into non-baby territory... perhaps we can be squeezed into a wasabi topic?)

Wasabi is not spicy, but pungent.  I think it takes a long time to develop a liking for pungent foods, and that's why children don't usually like wasabi (or super stinky cheeses).

Edited by JasonTrue (log)

Jason Truesdell

Blog: Pursuing My Passions

Take me to your ryokan, please

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MomOfLittleFoodies

MomOfLittleFoodies

Posted
Posted
Wasabi is not spicy, but pungent.  I think it takes a long time to develop a liking for pungent foods, and that's why children don't usually like wasabi (or super stinky cheeses).

That would definitely explain why I don't care for wasabi. I love mustard though. I like sharp cheeses, but stuff like bleu cheese isn't too appealing to me.

Cheryl

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted
Wasabi is not spicy, but pungent.  I think it takes a long time to develop a liking for pungent foods, and that's why children don't usually like wasabi (or super stinky cheeses).

That would definitely explain why I don't care for wasabi. I love mustard though. I like sharp cheeses, but stuff like bleu cheese isn't too appealing to me.

It's interesting that you say you don't care for wasabi but love mustard. As I mentioned elsewhere, they both have the same pungent component allyl isothiocyanate, and virtually the only difference between them is that wasabi has a fragrant component referred to as a green note.

I learned this from Me Ga Ten (Japanese only), a popular TV show in Japan.

My blog
Link to comment
Share on other sites
MomOfLittleFoodies

MomOfLittleFoodies

Posted
Posted
Wasabi is not spicy, but pungent.  I think it takes a long time to develop a liking for pungent foods, and that's why children don't usually like wasabi (or super stinky cheeses).

That would definitely explain why I don't care for wasabi. I love mustard though. I like sharp cheeses, but stuff like bleu cheese isn't too appealing to me.

It's interesting that you say you don't care for wasabi but love mustard. As I mentioned elsewhere, they both have the same pungent component allyl isothiocyanate, and virtually the only difference between them is that wasabi has a fragrant component referred to as a green note.

I learned this from Me Ga Ten (Japanese only), a popular TV show in Japan.

I think it has to do with potency. With wasabi, I start to feel a burning sensation in my nose with just a little bit, with most mustards, I can use a much larger amount before that same "burn" shows up. I think with prepared mustard, it's a bit more diluted than the wasabi paste. I don't like horseradish at all.

Cheryl

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
tissue

tissue

Posted
Posted

My sis and I grew up eating lots of tuna since we could eat solid food and we never had any problems and checked out fine physically. However, that was 20 years ago and the mercury levels in fish might be higher now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SheenaGreena

SheenaGreena

Posted
Posted
My sis and I grew up eating lots of tuna since we could eat solid food and we never had any problems and checked out fine physically. However, that was 20 years ago and the mercury levels in fish might be higher now.

yep, I grew up eating a lot of tuna and a lot of salt grilled mackeral (my favorite fish). I hear that mackeral has a lot of mercury...but I think that the health benefits of eating oily fish outweigh the mercury. I am always hearing that you should eat "blue fish"...basically fish that are oily.

BEARS, BEETS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 years later...
alamut

alamut

Posted
Posted

As a new(ish) parent I think that this thread is very interesting. But I have to say that the children of EG forum members is probably a statistically skewed sample of what American children will eat.

My kids also chow down on (raw) veggies and (cooked) fish. Although my 2 year old calls any kind of meat (including fish) a cheeseburgersandwich. I'm pretty sure he's never actually had a real cheese burger.

I'm considering getting him some natto, Japanese kids like that, right?

Alamut was the mountain fortress of Hassan i Sabbah and the later heads of the Assassins. Alamut represents more than just a physical place, more even than a symbolic home of the movement. Alamut was with you in what you did; Alamut was in your heart from the moment of your arrival and introduction to "Heaven" until the moment you died.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

I'm considering getting him some natto, Japanese kids like that, right?

Most Japanese kids love natto, mine all ate it when they were young though my oldest (and pickiest) won't touch it any more. Just a warning, no matter how careful you are it will get everywhere. Hair, clothes, chair, table and surrounding walls. I used to strip my kids down to their diaper and then throw them in the bath afterwards...

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...