Recipes & uses– category –

柿の産地を調べると、生の柿と干し柿で地図がまったく違います。生の柿は和歌山と奈良が2本柱ですが、干し柿は6割が長野に集まっています。 そして干し柿には、国の専用統計があります。農林水産省の特産果樹生産動態等調査に「干し柿生産出荷実績調査」と...

柿をもらって置いておくと、数日で柔らかくなります。農林水産省の広報誌は「常温だと2日ほどで柔らかくなります」と書いています。なぜそんなに早いのか。調べていくと、原因がヘタにあることがわかりました。 柿はヘタが乾くと、そこからエチレンを出し...

庭に柿の木があって、どの柿なら干し柿になるのか迷う。あるいは店で買える柿で作れるのか知りたい。よく出てくる答えは「渋柿を使う」ですが、その先が曖昧なまま終わっている説明が多いと感じました。 そこで、農林水産省が品種登録の審査に使っている基...

渋柿をもらったとき、干すほかに道があります。生のまま、硬いまま、甘くして食べる。産地が毎年やっていることです。 ただ、やり方を調べると日数がばらばらです。焼酎に漬けて1週間という記事もあれば、3週間という記事もある。そこで都道府県の試験場と...

皮をむいた柿を吊るしたあと、置き場所で迷う人が多いはずです。軒下がないマンションならどうするのか、室内ではだめなのか、何日で食べられるのか。調べてもレシピサイトの体験談ばかりで、数字が出てこない。 そこで、国の地理的表示（GI）に登録された...

Elderflower is popular for its sweet, floral aroma reminiscent of muscat. Besides drinking it as tea, making it into a syrup (cordial) and mixing it with sparkling water is a widely enjoyed way to use it. The method is simple, but people run into problems like "the aroma is weak," "the cordial turned cloudy" or "it was too sweet"...

Lemongrass tea releases a fresh, lemon-like aroma just by pouring hot water. The brewing method is simple, but people sometimes run into problems like "the aroma is weak," "it tastes grassy" or "the flavor becomes flat when iced." What makes the difference is choosing between fresh and dried, and drawing out the aroma...

Hibiscus tea is loved for its vivid ruby-red color and crisp tartness. Although brewing it is simple, people run into problems like "it's too sour to drink," "the color turned dull" or "the aroma is weaker than expected." What makes the difference is water temperature, steeping and balancing the acidity...

Ginger tea can be made simply by pouring boiling water over grated ginger. Even so, people often run into problems like "it was too spicy," "the aroma is weak" or "how is it different from ginger-yu?" What makes the difference is choosing between fresh ginger and dried ginger, and how you draw out the heat and aroma. This article...

Simply adding dried fruit to black tea or herbs makes fruit tea instantly more fragrant and colorful. Making it isn't difficult, yet plenty of people stumble with "the fruit doesn't open up," "the aroma is weak" or "the flavor goes flat when iced." What makes the difference is the...

Kiriboshi daikon (dried shredded radish) is essential to simmered dishes. In fact, you can make it easily at home simply by cutting and drying daikon. Homemade versions have a richer sweetness and no additives to worry about. Still, many people hesitate over problems like "it won't dry properly," "I'm worried about mold," or "I don't know how to rehydrate or store it." In this article, we explain...

Mandarins are plentiful in winter. If you have some left over that you can't finish, turning them into dried mandarin is a great option. Drying concentrates the sweetness, and if you make them whole with the peel, the cross-section is as beautiful as a flower, adding a lovely touch to tea or yogurt. They turn out plenty sweet even without added sugar...

Shikuwasa is a citrus that represents Okinawa. With its sharp acidity, gently bitter peel, and refreshing aroma, it has many uses beyond simply squeezing it over food, extending to drinks, seasonings, and as an accent in cooking. That said, quite a few people find themselves unsure, wondering "the juice ends up left over" or "how do I use the peel?"...

Dried persimmon is a seasonal tradition from autumn into winter. The way astringent persimmons are reborn sweet through sun and wind can be recreated at home. Still, failures like "mold appeared" or "it didn't turn out sweet" are common, and mastering a few tips is what separates success from failure. In this article, we cover dried persimmon...

Dried mango is popular for its rich sweetness and tropical aroma. It's delicious on its own, but knowing different ways to eat it—rehydrating it in yogurt or mixing it into sweets and drinks—greatly expands the enjoyment. On the other hand, some find it "too sweet" or "too hard," which comes down to choosing the right type...

Kiwi is prized for its vivid green and sweet-tart flavor. Drying it mellows the tartness and concentrates the sweetness, making a snack distinctly different from the fresh fruit. The tiny popping texture of the seeds remains too, making it a perfect accent for granola or yogurt. In this article, we cover...

Bananas are too ripe to finish, or you want additive-free fruit for your child's snack—that's when dried banana comes in handy. The appeal of the homemade version is that you can concentrate the sweetness of ripe bananas as-is, without sugar or oil. Still, some run into issues like "it's sticky and not fully dried" or "it turned brown"...

Shiso powder, made by grinding ooba (green shiso) or red shiso into powder, is a handy seasoning that lets you add shiso's aroma and color to dishes without the chopping and food waste. But many people can't tell "what dishes to use it in" or "how it differs from fresh shiso," and end up leaving it unused...

Red shiso left over from making umeboshi, or a huge harvest from your home garden—are you unsure how to use it? Red shiso can be used in a wide range of ways, not only for juice and yukari but also in salads, pasta, and preserved foods. In this article, we cover everything from prepping red shiso to the classic red shiso juice and syrup...

Have you ever been unsure which to buy when "ooba" and "green shiso" are sold separately at the supermarket? To get straight to the point, ooba and green shiso are leaves of the same plant. On the other hand, the red shiso used for umeboshi is in the same shiso family but differs in both color and use. This article...

You put the ooba (green shiso) you bought in the fridge, only to find it turned black within a few days—many people have had this experience. Strongly aromatic ooba is vulnerable to both drying out and excess moisture, and if stored without any care, its original flavor fades almost instantly. In this article, we cover refrigerating, freezing...

Have you ever thought, "Yakuzen and Kampo seem similar, but where do they differ?" Because both are rooted in Eastern medicine, they're easily confused, yet they are distinct things with clearly different roles. On this page, we organize the difference between yakuzen and Kampo through the lens of "food" and "medicine"...

Many people feel that "yakuzen seems good for you, but doesn't it require special ingredients or crude drugs?" In fact, yakuzen is a style of eating based on the ideas of Eastern medicine that you can start with everyday vegetables from the supermarket. On this page, we explain what yakuzen is...

A small jar of ground sansho sits in the kitchen, never opened except when eating eel. A common story. Here's the conclusion first. Sansho is a crop that appears four times a year in different forms: kinome in spring, hana-sansho in April, green berries in May, and fully ripened berries in autumn. Each suits different dishes. 'Sansho = ee...

A mapo tofu recipe calls for 'huajiao,' but what you have at home is ground sansho, and you're unsure whether to substitute. Or the spellings 'hua jiao' and 'huajiao' vary, and you can't tell whether they point to the same thing. Here's the conclusion first. Sansho and huajiao are different plants of the same genus...

Fresh green sansho, which appears in early summer, is prized for its tingly numbness and refreshing aroma. But once you buy it, prepping comes first, and many people are unsure—"what do I do with the stems?", "how long do I boil it to remove the bitterness?", "how do I store it so it keeps for a year?" On this page, we cover prepping green sansho...

You bought a lot of mushrooms while they were cheap, or you can't use up mushrooms you were given—that's when "drying" comes in handy. Drying mushrooms makes them keep longer and deepens their umami and stock flavor. On the other hand, questions like "sun or oven, which is better?", "I'm worried about mold," and "how long until they're fully dried?"...

Sansho is essential to eel, mapo tofu, and chirimen sansho. But even under the single name "sansho," it comes in various forms—green sansho, powdered sansho, and kinome—and people often wonder "what's the difference between green sansho and powdered sansho?" or "is it different from huajiao?" It's a spice that represents Japan, defined by its aroma and numbing tingle...

Tamogitake, sometimes called a "phantom mushroom" for its vivid yellow color and pleasant aroma. It's a mushroom long enjoyed in places like Hokkaido, and used in miso soup or takikomi gohan, it offers deep umami and stock flavor. On the other hand, questions come up—"how do I prep it?", "what's a classic way to eat it?", "is dried tamogitake..."

Dried maitake adds aroma and umami to takikomi gohan and miso soup. It keeps longer than fresh maitake, and even a small amount deepens a dish's flavor considerably. On the other hand, situations often leave people unsure—"should I rehydrate it?", "the soaking liquid turns dark—is that okay?", "can I make tempura with it?"—it's that kind of ingredient...

Ichimi togarashi, sprinkled over udon and soups. When it comes time to choose, people often wonder "what's the difference between ichimi and shichimi?" and "which should I use?" They look and are used similarly, but there's a clear difference in their ingredients and roles. On this page, we cover what ichimi togarashi is...

You try to rehydrate dried shiitake, but the back of the bag only says "rehydrate in water before use." Not knowing how many hours it takes, you end up just soaking them in water and heading out. Let me give the answer first. A producers' association in the growing region offers a mnemonic called the "Rule of 5-5-10"...

The chili peppers in your home garden turned deep red, so you spread them on a basket under the eaves. After about a week they were bone-dry, so you put them in a jar. A month later you opened the lid to find something like white fluff on them. This is not an unusual story. Here's the conclusion first. Simply sun-drying does not...

We explain how to use and rehydrate dried mushrooms, covering the characteristics of each type such as shiitake, maitake, and enoki, when to rehydrate in water versus simmer them directly, uses in miso soup and takikomi gohan, and storage methods.

We explain how to rehydrate and eat dried kikurage (wood ear mushroom), covering rehydration in water or hot water, the tip of always heating it to prevent food poisoning, popular recipes like stir-fries, soups, and harusame, and storage methods.

One bag at the supermarket says "takanotsume," and another shelf says "togarashi." In the produce section, "shishito" and "ao-togarashi" sit side by side, and at a roadside station in Tohoku the same thing is called "nanban." There are four or five names, and which is a variety name and which a general term...

Yagenbori in Asakusa, Tokyo; Shichimiya Honpo in Kiyomizu, Kyoto; Yawataya Isogoro at Zenkoji in Shinshu. Lining up the shichimi ingredients these three shops disclose, the only two that all three include are chili pepper and sansho pepper. All three use sesame, but they split between white and black. Shops that use dried citrus peel...

You have yuzu kosho in the fridge, but you aren't sure what to put it on besides hot pot. Plenty of people leave the jar sitting unused in just this state. Yuzu kosho is a seasoning whose heat and aroma come through in small amounts, so once you've settled on what to pair it with and how much to use, you can use it every day even after hot pot season ends. This...

Mikan, yuzu, sudachi, kabosu, lemon. The citrus lined up in the store differ in name and shape, and there are often moments of confusion—"What family is this?" "Which is more sour, sudachi or kabosu?" Looking into it, each site divides them differently, which can end up being even more confusing...

Squeezed over freshly fried karaage. A single squeeze over the rim of a bowl of miso soup. That use, taken for granted in Oita, has not quite reached dining tables outside the prefecture. Many people have the impression that you only see it in stores for a few months a year. Yet Oita Prefecture, with open-field, stored, and green-house...

We explain how to make and choose vegetable furikake, covering an easy homemade recipe using dried vegetables or leftover vegetables, salt-free and additive-free ideas that are easy for children to eat, and how to read the ingredients on store-bought products—tips for a furikake packed with vegetables that tastes good too.

A quick squeeze over freshly grilled saury. A thin slice floated on somen. Sudachi is a small citrus that redraws the outline of a dish with a single squeeze. Yet it is in stores longer than you might think, and the more you look into how it differs from kabosu, or how long it keeps, the more the information scatters. This page...

A dried-vegetable manufacturer explains the types and flavors of edible flowers, how they differ from ornamental flowers, how to choose safe ones, and how to eat and store them. We also introduce ways to enjoy them at home and uses for dried edible flowers.

よもぎ茶は、若草の香りとノンカフェインで親しまれている和のお茶です。乾燥よもぎを使えば、急須やお鍋で煮出すだけと簡単に作れます。生のよもぎから自家製のよもぎ茶を作ることもでき、好みに合わせて楽しめます。 よもぎ茶に使う乾燥よもぎ（カットタ...

春の和菓子の定番、よもぎ餅（草餅）。生のよもぎは旬が春に限られますが、乾燥よもぎを使えば一年中いつでも、手軽によもぎ餅を作れます。下処理やアク抜きが済んでいるので、戻して生地に混ぜるだけと簡単です。 よもぎ餅づくりに使う乾燥よもぎ この記...

We explain how to use dried mugwort—from rehydrating and amounts, to popular recipes such as kusa mochi and yomogi dumplings, mugwort tea and mugwort baths, storage methods and best-before dates, and how to choose without going wrong. A Kyoto dried vegetable manufacturer summarizes tips for using up domestic, low-temperature-dried mugwort without waste, at home or commercially.

鍋の仕上げに皮を少し削いだら、あとは黄色い実がひとつ残る。果汁を搾ったら、今度は皮とワタと種が残る。ゆずは、どこかを使うたびに別のどこかが余る果物です。 皮ごと乾燥して粗く挽いた国産ゆず 農林水産省の令和5年産特産果樹生産動態等調査では、ゆ...

Dried tomatoes are made by drying fully ripe tomatoes. This processed food is prized for a deep richness and aroma quite unlike fresh tomatoes. Tomatoes are about 90% water, and removing that water through drying concentrates their umami. At Agriture, tomatoes for stock specialized in vegetable dashi...

There are three basic ways to use dried tomatoes: "rehydrate before cooking," "eat as-is," and "keep them on hand marinated in oil." Because drying tomatoes concentrates their umami compounds, adding even a small amount to pasta or soup adds depth of flavor. This article covers how to rehydrate them...

The basic approach to storing dried tomatoes is to use room temperature, refrigeration, and freezing as appropriate. Unopened, fully dried types can be kept at room temperature for six months or more, but once opened they absorb moisture and change in quality, so the rule is to put them in an airtight container and move them to the fridge. Frozen, they keep for 3–4 months...