Dashi And Umami

The history of haute cuisine in Japan, with an emphasis on dashi and umami. Heston Blumenthal and other chefs contribute their dashi recipes.

Interest in Japanese food in North America has grown exponentially in the last fifteen years, moving well beyond sushi and sashimi. More and more people now appreciate the variety and complex tastes and textures of Japanese food, as well as its emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients, and presentation. Words like "dashi" and "umami" are part of our vocabulary. Along with this interest has come an abundance of Japanese cookbooks, most often with a focus on ease of preparation, and recipes that accommodate local tastes and ingredients. However, professional chefs, who are increasingly acknowledging the influence of Japanese cooking on their own work, are looking for expert information about authentic, traditional cuisine. "The Japanese Culinary Academy's Complete Japanese Cuisine" series meets this demand. FLAVOR AND SEASONING: DASHI, UMAMI AND FERMENTED FOOD is the second in this multi-volume series. Created by the renowned Japanese Culinary Academy, an organization dedicated to advancing Japanese cuisine throughout the world, the series is authoritative, comprehensive, and wide-ranging in scope. The writing, design and photography of each volume meet the highest standards. And although the books are targeted primarily to a professional readership, serous amateur chefs will also find them to be an invaluable resource. FLAVOR AND SEASONING covers all the fundamentals of the subject, providing information that's necessary to understanding the cuisine and its cultural context. The book features sections on: kaiseki; dashi and umami; Japanese soy sauce, miso, and sake for cooking; kombu; fermented food and seasonings like natto, mirin and vinegar; flavorings including yuzu, sudachi, sansho, myoga, shoga, and oba; and much, much more. At the end of the book is information about Japanese kitchen utensils as well as basic recipes and a glossary.

Interest in Japanese food in North America has grown exponentially in the last fifteen years, moving well beyond sushi and sashimi. More and more people now appreciate the variety and complex tastes and textures of Japanese food, as well as its emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients, and presentation. Words like "dashi" and "umami" are part of our vocabulary. Along with this interest has come an abundance of Japanese cookbooks, most often with a focus on ease of preparation, and recipes that accommodate local tastes and ingredients. However, professional chefs, who are increasingly acknowledging the influence of Japanese cooking on their own work, are looking for expert information about authentic, traditional cuisine. "The Japanese Culinary Academy's Complete Japanese Cuisine" series meets this demand. FLAVOR AND SEASONING: DASHI, UMAMI AND FERMENTED FOOD is the second in this multi-volume series. Created by the renowned Japanese Culinary Academy, an organization dedicated to advancing Japanese cuisine throughout the world, the series is authoritative, comprehensive, and wide-ranging in scope. The writing, design and photography of each volume meet the highest standards. And although the books are targeted primarily to a professional readership, serous amateur chefs will also find them to be an invaluable resource. FLAVOR AND SEASONING covers all the fundamentals of the subject, providing information that's necessary to understanding the cuisine and its cultural context. The book features sections on: kaiseki; dashi and umami; Japanese soy sauce, miso, and sake for cooking; kombu; fermented food and seasonings like natto, mirin and vinegar; flavorings including yuzu, sudachi, sansho, myoga, shoga, and oba; and much, much more. At the end of the book is information about Japanese kitchen utensils as well as basic recipes and a glossary.

In the West, we have identified only four basic tastesÑsour, sweet, salty, and bitterÑthat, through skillful combination and technique, create delicious foods. Yet in many parts of East Asia over the past century, an additional flavor has entered the culinary lexicon: umami, a fifth taste impression that is savory, complex, and wholly distinct. Combining culinary history with recent research into the chemistry, preparation, nutrition, and culture of food, Mouritsen and Styrb¾k encapsulate what we know to date about the concept of umami, from ancient times to today. Umami can be found in soup stocks, meat dishes, air-dried ham, shellfish, aged cheeses, mushrooms, and ripe tomatoes, and it can enhance other taste substances to produce a transformative gustatory experience. Researchers have also discovered which substances in foodstuffs bring out umami, a breakthrough that allows any casual cook to prepare delicious and more nutritious meals with less fat, salt, and sugar. The implications of harnessing umami are both sensuous and social, enabling us to become more intimate with the subtleties of human taste while making better food choices for ourselves and our families. This volume, the product of an ongoing collaboration between a chef and a scientist, won the Danish national Mad+Medier-Prisen (Food and Media Award) in the category of academic food communication.

Highly qualified food and nutrition scientists combine with some of the world's greatest chefs to produce this superbly illustrated revelation of the mysterious 'fifth taste' that has gained global recognition in recent years and has become such a key component in cooking. Featuring information on the science of the umami taste, and with recipes from world-class chefs such as Heston Blumenthal, Alexandre Bourdas, Michael Anthony and many more, Umami: The Fifth Taste presents wonderful new possibilities for cuisines of every genre and culinary style.

“A beautifully photographed . . . introduction to Japanese cuisine.” —New York Times “A treasure trove for . . . Japanese recipes.” —Epicurious “Heartfelt, poetic.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Expand a home chef’s borders” with this “essential guide to Japanese home cooking” featuring 100+ recipes—for seasoned cooks and beginners who crave authentic Japanese food (Martha Stewart Living). Using high-quality, seasonal ingredients in simple preparations, Sonoko Sakai offers recipes with a gentle voice and a passion for authentic Japanese cooking. Beginning with the pantry, the flavors of this cuisine are explored alongside fundamental recipes, such as dashi and pickles, and traditional techniques, like making noodles and properly cooking rice. Use these building blocks to cook an abundance of everyday recipes with dishes like Grilled Onigiri (rice balls) and Japanese Chicken Curry. From there, the book expands into an exploration of dishes organized by breakfast; vegetables and grains; meat; fish; noodles, dumplings, and savory pancakes; and sweets and beverages. With classic dishes like Kenchin-jiru (Hearty Vegetable Soup with Sobagaki Buckwheat Dumplings), Temaki Zushi (Sushi Hand Rolls), and Oden (Vegetable, Seafood, and Meat Hot Pot) to more inventive dishes like Mochi Waffles with Tatsuta (Fried Chicken) and Maple Yuzu Kosho, First Garden Soba Salad with Lemon-White Miso Vinaigrette, and Amazake (Fermented Rice Drink) Ice Pops with Pickled Cherry Blossoms this is a rich guide to Japanese home cooking. Featuring stunning photographs by Rick Poon, the book also includes stories of food purveyors in California and Japan. This is a generous and authoritative book that will appeal to home cooks of all levels.

Holistic nutritionist and highly-regarded blogger Sarah Britton presents a refreshing, straight-forward approach to balancing mind, body, and spirit through a diet made up of whole foods. Sarah Britton's approach to plant-based cuisine is about satisfaction--foods that satiate on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level. Based on her knowledge of nutrition and her love of cooking, Sarah Britton crafts recipes made from organic vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds. She explains how a diet based on whole foods allows the body to regulate itself, eliminating the need to count calories. My New Roots draws on the enormous appeal of Sarah Britton's blog, which strikes the perfect balance between healthy and delicious food. She is a "whole food lover," a cook who makes simple accessible plant-based meals that are a pleasure to eat and a joy to make. This book takes its cues from the rhythms of the earth, showcasing 100 seasonal recipes. Sarah simmers thinly sliced celery root until it mimics pasta for Butternut Squash Lasagna, and whips up easy raw chocolate to make homemade chocolate-nut butter candy cups. Her recipes are not about sacrifice, deprivation, or labels--they are about enjoying delicious food that's also good for you.