The Path to a Michelin Green Star, Led by Dried Vegetables

Since the pandemic, the habit of eating at home has taken root, and the value sought in eating out has changed greatly. Not just "delicious," but higher-level elements such as environmental consideration and social significance are now called for. Amid this, the ingredient drawing attention is dried vegetables.

Dried vegetables aren't merely a preserved food. Within them lies great potential to contribute to sustainable efforts such as reducing food loss and local production for local consumption, all while making the most of "UMAMI," which Japan is proud to share with the world.

The relationship between UMAMI and drying

Umami strengthens when an ingredient is dried, fermented, or aged, and rises further synergistically when multiple umami components combine. Dried vegetables not only concentrate umami in the process of removing moisture, but are also scientifically known to generate new umami components.

Conventional dried vegetables were typically kiriboshi daikon and dried shiitake (donko). But now, Western ingredients and novel dried vegetables such as tomato, beet, Manganji chili, and Kujo green onion have appeared, and the range has broadened dramatically.

Use these together with bonito flakes and kombu in stock and the flavor gains depth; take stock with dried vegetables alone, and it becomes an original bowl where a natural sweetness and the vegetables' inherent gentle flavor stand out.

Health-consciousness and diverse ways to use them

Dried vegetables are an ingredient that also answers rising health-consciousness and the spread of vegan demand. Beyond adding them straight to soups and simmered dishes, they can be rehydrated for use in salads and pasta. A texture unlike fresh vegetables can also bring surprise to a dish.

Also, by powdering them and adding to smoothies or seasonings, you can boost nutritional value and flavor easily, producing originality unique to a restaurant.

The Michelin Green Star and dried vegetables

The Michelin Guide has a category called the "Green Star" that evaluates sustainable efforts. The pillars of its selection criteria are "reducing food loss" and "local production for local consumption."

乾燥野菜は、この両方の課題解決に貢献する素材です。日本では大量の食品ロスが発生しており、その多くが規格外品や収穫過多の野菜だと言われています。乾燥加工を施せば、見た目に問題があっても保存性が高まり、商品としての価値を取り戻すことができます。

Furthermore, drying and using locally grown vegetables reduces the environmental burden of transport and also supports local agriculture. Such efforts overlap with the philosophy of the Green Star.

Agricultural sustainability and the future of restaurants

The spread of dried vegetables brings great benefits to farmers too. Being able to turn off-spec and surplus crops into income leads to stabilizing management and solving the successor problem. If a system is in place to sell year-round, unswayed by the seasons, agricultural continuity rises too.

For restaurants, building sustainable relationships with trustworthy producers will become increasingly important going forward. Dried vegetables can serve as that bridge.

Dried vegetables are a "proposal for the future"

Dried vegetables aren't only excellent in shelf life and nutritional value; they broaden the range of culinary expression and become a hint for realizing a sustainable society. With this new ingredient, restaurants can speak of the future of food. That's not mere "cooking" but a "proposal for the future" through a single plate.

For restaurants aiming for a Green Star, dried vegetables can be called a partner full of possibility.

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