Cultural Discussion - The Taste of Home

Cultural Discussion - The Taste of Home

Look at the words below and discuss the traditional Japanese food for each of the following:

• breakfast
• lunch
• dinner
• sweets
• snacks
• drinks
• staple food(s)

Do you eat these traditional foods everyday? If not, why not?

Unique ingredients

An ingredient is part of a recipe. For example, flour, sugar, yeast, and water are ingredients in bread making. Some unique Japanese ingredients are listed below. Describe each ingredient in English and talk about what types foods they are used in.

• mirin
• miso
• sen-cha
• shoyu
• anko
• nori
• wasabi
• sake
• konyaku
• katsuobushi
• ponzu

Why do you think these foods are unique to Japanese or Asian cooking?

Do you often use these ingredients in the food you cook or eat?

FYI:

There are many foods which are similar but not quite the same when you compare the American version and the Japanese version. Here are some examples:

1. milk: Milk in Japan is heat-treated differently than it is in the U.S. and tastes very different. Japanese milk is heated more so it can be kept on the store shelves longer. Also, milk in the U.S. does not come in a wide variety of fat contents. Usually, you can only buy “whole milk” (full fat), skim milk (no fat) or “2% milk”. In Japan, you can get a variety of milk with different fat percentages. Also, milk is most often sold by the gallon in America. In Japan, it is impossible to buy large size containers of milk.
2. bread: Bread in Japan is usually sliced much thicker and white bread is usually much softer and “cake-like”. The thinner bread cuts in America are designed to accommodate toasters.
3. soft drinks: Soft drinks in Japan are mixed with a different formula than they are in the U.S. Even brand names that are famous worldwide like Coca-cola and Pepsi are different in Japan. It is impossible to know for sure but there seem to differences in the amount of acidity (or “bite”) and sweetness.
4. frozen yogurt: Frozen yogurt is much more popular in America than Japan but the main difference is that Japanese frozen yogurt tastes sour like regular yogurt. American frozen yogurt is a low fat, lower calorie version of ice cream and is rarely sour.
5. bagels: Japanese-made bagels are more bread-like and softer than traditional bagels. American bagels are chewier and denser.
6. icing/frosting: Most icing and frosting in Japan has less sugar and more fat than that in America. American frosting is sweeter but the texture is not as rubbery as Japanese frosting.
7. donuts: Japanese donuts are not as sweet as American ones and tend to be smaller and more cake-like.
   
8. bacon: American bacon is much saltier and usually thinner than Japanese bacon. It is more crispy when cooked. Japanese bacon is closer to what Americans call “fresh side” than what they call “bacon”. “Fresh side” is very lightly cured or uncured bacon.

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