Japan’s Dietary Culture

Japan’s Dietary Culture

Food preparation and culinary art are frequently looked upon as a direct example of a civilization’s level of culture. As such, partaking of meals becomes more of a cultural act than mere survival instinct. Ceremony at mealtime is highly advanced in Japanese society and has a tradition, — — and meaning — perhaps unequaled anywhere else in the world.

Japanese dietary culture is based on the philosophy of utilizing natural resources to enhance as well as preserve the original and essential taste in the form of the foods indigenous to the island archipelago nation. Dietary patterns evolved from a spiritual appreciation and reverence of nature. The Japanese have always felt it to be of utmost importance to create Harmony within diversity.

Foods are, of course, seasonal and that condition is of utmost concern as the Japanese are especially sensitive to environmental changes. To a people whose daily intake of foods rest mainly on aquatic products, the Japanese have developed and perfected the art and technique of aqua science. In addition, the nation’s actual landscape is crowded with mountainous regions that compose more than 75% of usable unlivable land space. Inevitably the Japanese have had to conserve and that creates a compact agricultural system which has resulted in the harvesting of small but delicious vegetables and fruits.

Of the Japanese it may be said, one each truly of the environment as much as the actual largest of the land. The Japanese ingest their surroundings and the result is an unusually attractive and decorative vision of food presentation in preparation.

All Senses Are Party to the Meal

Japanese cuisine must be palatable to all the senses — — texture, visual appeal, arrangement, presentation, scent, and flavor. If there is truth in cooking, the Japanese not only fully understand it, but relish and protect it. Ingredients are used to maintain freshness and preserve original colors. Food elements are shaped to emphasize the basic forms of nature, i.e.: flowers, branches, animal shapes. A graceful and harmonious array of these preparations is truly inspiring to behold.

Culinary tradition has become an intimate part of the Japanese psyche, the exacting standards that Japanese chefs and consumers expect from their food is slowly becoming part of the principle of American cuisine. The fragile, subtle taste of fine foods has become a way of life for many Americans and westerners when purchasing food products either for at-home scratch use or when dining out.

Japanese Influence Spreads

Trends in the United States point towards the following in terms of characteristics of consumer eating habits.
1. people want lighter Fresh Foods
2. people want to eat food prepared in an Asian style: stir fry, steamed or cooked with little or no sauce
3. people want regionally grown products due to freshness and origin
4. people want less red meat and more white meat such as poultry, fish, and vegetables

Most westerners have experimented with various types of Japanese cuisine. Americans not exposed to Japan’s dietary culture will appreciate more fully that it comes from the sanguinity of nature and people who respect the land and its marvelous produce.