Recently I was very fortunate to spend a few days at a local sake brewery, Lady of the Castle (女城主) in Iwamura, a beautiful castle town nearby. My intention was to learn enough about the sake brewing process to help introduce Alex, a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend, to a week of fine-tuned rice fermentation in sub zero temperatures.
You can read about his experiences at the Foodish Boy, a blog he writes regularly as he travels the world working in many different food- and drink-related jobs.
Perhaps predictably, I enjoyed the whole experience far too much. Sake tasting is fun, but learning all about the details behind the drink - the chemistry, the artistry and the magic touch that govern the decisions of the master brewer, not to mention the social and political history of the brewery business itself - was an absolutely unique experience that I wouldn't have missed for anything.
Also, getting to know the people at the brewery was pretty inspiring. Sake is only brewed during the cold winter months, and therefore most brewery workers have an alternative occupation during the remainder of the year. For example, at the Lady of the Castle brewery, Kurata-san is a potter, and Suzuki-san (the toji - master brewer) is a rice farmer. Both are passionated about their work - and passionate about sake.
One day, Suzuki-san asked me if I might bring some insects for them to try. Since it's really not the season for insects in Japan at the moment (I'd have to buy frozen wasp larvae from China, perhaps...) I decided to bring caterpillars. I cooked them with homegrown radish, turnip leaves and local miso hoping that this might make for a dish with a warming, winter flavour that the sake workers would be familiar with.
You can read about his experiences at the Foodish Boy, a blog he writes regularly as he travels the world working in many different food- and drink-related jobs.
Perhaps predictably, I enjoyed the whole experience far too much. Sake tasting is fun, but learning all about the details behind the drink - the chemistry, the artistry and the magic touch that govern the decisions of the master brewer, not to mention the social and political history of the brewery business itself - was an absolutely unique experience that I wouldn't have missed for anything.
Also, getting to know the people at the brewery was pretty inspiring. Sake is only brewed during the cold winter months, and therefore most brewery workers have an alternative occupation during the remainder of the year. For example, at the Lady of the Castle brewery, Kurata-san is a potter, and Suzuki-san (the toji - master brewer) is a rice farmer. Both are passionated about their work - and passionate about sake.
One day, Suzuki-san asked me if I might bring some insects for them to try. Since it's really not the season for insects in Japan at the moment (I'd have to buy frozen wasp larvae from China, perhaps...) I decided to bring caterpillars. I cooked them with homegrown radish, turnip leaves and local miso hoping that this might make for a dish with a warming, winter flavour that the sake workers would be familiar with.
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They seemed to go down quite well! I also brought along some salted termites, which are always a winner. In return, Suzuki-san gave me a very rare and delicious gift - funazushi. This is essentially fish packed with rice which is then salted, fermented, and aged for up to four years. It has a strong smell, a strong flavour, and like all good things makes for excellent tsumami.
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