Preserving the Japanese Way

Interesting take, and a wonderful book to just read. A nice take on the ways of a different culture, and the pictures were attractive and enhanced the book. Would highly recommend, although not sure if I will try the methods or not.

First off, this book is a visual treat, full of beautiful photos of Japanese food, places, and people, if you like your cookbooks very specialized and pretty then you will love this book.

Sadly due to some really stupid food intolerances, I cannot eat much in the way of fermented food, and certainly no soy, but for all that I still enjoyed every moment I spent reading this book. See, I love traditional Japanese food, one of my favorite cookbooks from my earlier days was a book on country cooking in Japan, and the dishes I tried were delicious, this book mirrors the same traditional aesthetic that I love.

I also really liked how it was not just a book about food but also about the people who specialize in making the tools and ingredients, it was a beautiful look into both their's and the author's lives.

Even if you have no interest in fermenting foods, I recommend this book, doubly so if you love Japanese cooking and culture.

I first began reading Japanese recipes and cookbooks after my youngest son moved to Japan. In particular, the pickling process and use was intriguing. When his fiance visited, I made pickles especially for her. Preserving the Japanese Way goes way beyond a cookbook. It is a cultural, even spiritual story of a Japanese way of life that much like ours in the U.S., was almost lost. Read this as much for Hachisu's story as for the recipes.

This is a thorough and informative guide to pickling and preserving in a Japanese style. Will appeal to patrons interested in Japanese cooking, Fermentation, and food photography.

I would recommend book. The pictures are great and steps are easy to follow. But, I still think it's for advance skills. I enjoyed because it's different canning and preserves.

This is really a fabulous book, one that you can dip into when relaxing with lots of information about the food and the traditional methods of preserving. And one that you can try making some Japanese preserves, I must confess that when I first saw the book my interest was pricked, but I never thought I would make anything in the book, but the recipes are so do-able. The ingredients aren't hard to find and the methods are easy to follow. A really instructive and interesting book into the cooking, tradition and culture of a cuisine we love to eat. Now we can have a hand in making it ourselves.

Someone is getting a copy of this book for Christmas. I haven't quite decided if it'll be for Hubby or Teenage Daughter, but this book needs to be in our kitchen. With our family's ongoing series of culinary dares, this book seemed like a good way to find out what some of those intriguing things on the shelves of Uwajimaya and Fubonn actually are.

There's so much more than food in this book. The author lives in a hundred year old Japanese farmhouse with her husband and family, and teaches an English immersion preschool. She describes her wooden buckets and barrels and collection of old cooking implements in loving details, explaining when and why traditional is better than modern plastic. The pictures are gorgeous and the instructions are clear.

And that's before I even start to think about the food that's the purpose for the book in the first place! I won't be pickling eggs, but there are plenty of recipes I want to try.

TITLE: A lovely book to be savored, thought about, cooked from, and referred to— time and time again.

You can make miso, and sake. Can you believe that? Do believe it. I will be trying my hand at making miso and sake when the weather cools. Not just miso and sake—so much more!

This is an all-encompassing, passionate book: From essays and photos of the Japanese artisans who rake the salts or make the miso, soy sauces, vinegars, sake, teas and more; to convincing the reader that they, too, can dry eggplant and daikon, and salt their own fish and roe, make their own miso, fish sauce, vinegars and umeboshi; plus providing sourcing information for the best of the fermenting ingredients, then including all kinds of intriguing recipes for using fermented ingredients, dried ingredients, salted ingredients.

Buy this book anytime, but the best time to read or re-read it is in late summer, before the weather starts to cool down. The best time to think about the recipes and techniques in this book is a month or so in advance of when you can start your larger fermenting projects. It’s time to read, dream, plan. And this soulful, virtuous, respectful book will coax you on your way.

While I wait for the weather to change, I have been drying daikon and eggplant. And when November arrives I’ll try to dry persimmons from a neighbor’s tree—if the birds allow me to. And I’ll try to make persimmon vinegar, too. And this is just a tiny drop in the bucket of all that can be accomplished with the info in this book. The only issue I have with this book is that I have to do my own research to translate the ambiguous temperatures and humidity mentioned in the recipes ("cool", "Autumn", "sunny", "muggy", "Summertime", Wintertime", "cold", just to name some examples.) I think there should have been a reference page included regarding weather and temps and humidities in Japan. So that the reader can decide if a certain fermentation or drying project can even be attempted in their neck of the woods. (Personally, I will be prevented from attempting many of these recipes because I live in South Coastal Texas.)

The author’s aim is to help preserve the ways in which the Japanese preserve their foods: The techniques and processes, the stories, the tools, the artisan community itself. She is unrelenting in her pursuit of all artisan endeavors in Japan. And she not only tenaciously learns everything she can about growing and harvesting foods and food preservation, she gets her hands on it all and in it all and learns to do it herself. She intently watches over the shoulder of any Japanese artisan willing to share their knowledge and experience--and I include Japanese farmers, home growers, all the elderly with a story to tell, in that term “artisan”. Then, in her own way, she works hard to share her knowledge.

As a Westerner—an expat from America—with continued close ties to America (seems like mostly the West Coast, but I believe she is from the East Coast), she has the ability to see the Japanese work ethic and their food and cultural traditions from a very slight distance. Sometimes, when one is too close to the extraordinary, one does not realize its complete and marvelous value. Nancy Hachisu’s view point is telling her—forcing her—to keep track of all the traditions, the stories, the recipes, the techniques.

Pick up this book simply to read and gaze at the beautiful pictures, or buy it for the invaluable sourcing information, or buy it for the recipes. It is really a fantastic book, and it is obvious a whole lot of work went into its making.

There is a multitude of essays about the artisans and their products. The writing is well-done and chatty. It is quite a journal, with many names and places detailed. So these essays, while so interesting to read, also serve as factual references. The pictures are quite a well-done mixture: Small, large, in a variety of layouts, close-ups, action pictures, pretty “post card” pictures, still life photos.

There is a helpful glossary of Japanese produce that includes the Japanese term and the English, if available. The glossary is six pages long. The index—at nine pages—is worthwhile. There are three pages of charts that list fruits, vegetables, fish and shellfish line by line, then chart out which pickling methods can be utilized with each entry. Most importantly—at least to me—are seven pages of resources. There is an entire page regarding Rakuten Global Market, and one on the “recommended” shops in the Market.

If you are interested in any or all things Japanese, this is a lovely book to be savored, thought about, cooked from, and referred to— time and time again.

*I received a temporary download of this cookbook from the publishers.

First, let me start off by saying, the pictures in this cookbook are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It made me nostalgic for the country that I studied abroad in during my college years. Although, I absolutely love most of these flavors and styles of foods, I more than likely will not be able to recreate them due to lack of ingredients in the area (also the costs of what is around) as well as the space to do it. That being said, I totally would try if those circumstance change for me.

If you are up for trying new foods, then you really should check out this cookbook. Even if your not, this is worth reading just for the photos and the tidbits of Japanese culture that you find throughout.