The most striking change in American food in the last 40 or so years, is the mainstreaming of global flavors. A good example is the now-ubiquitous sushi. Who would have thought that raw fish and seaweed would one day be consumed so eagerly by Americans? Today, sushi is sold in restaurants, supermarkets, employee cafeterias and lunchtime takeout shops from coast to coast. And hot on its heels is the addictive Japanese soybean bar snack, edamame.

The number of Japanese restaurants has more than doubled in the past decade, from 4,086 to 9,182, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing Japanese Food Trade News. The Journal also pointed out that sushi sales have jumped to $2.8 billion from $1.1 billion in 2000. Even more impressive, the article notes that Technomic, the foodservice industry research firm, expects continued growth of 10 to 20 percent annually for the next five years, compared to the overall restaurant industry’s projected annual growth rate of 5 percent per year. [more…]

Friday’s Washington Post featured an interesting article about the need for corporate test kitchen home economists to dumb down recipes because today’s younger Americans don’t know how to cook. The article points out that Kraft Foods no longer uses “dredge.” And Betty Crocker avoids “braise.” Land O’Lakes works around “fold” and “cream,” while Pillsbury has eliminated “simmer” or “sear.”

As a recipe editor for my own business and the Ketchum Food Center, I also eliminate words that have the potential to confuse. Our goal is to create recipes that motivate consumers to use our clients’ products. When our precise culinary terminology obfuscates, it’s better to simplify to ensure that consumers doesn’t walk away from the recipe because they are too confused to follow it. [more…]

Unlike the Chinese, who celebrate the lunar new year, January 1 is the start of the year for Japanese and Japanese Americans. For my family living in Hawaii, the week between Christmas and New Year’s was a time of frenzied activity — cooking and cleaning in preparation.

We wiped down cabinets, washed windows and screens, did all the laundry and made our house sparkle. We decorated the front porch with bamboo and pine branches.

New Year’s Eve was the thrilling start of the celebration, with firecrackers exploding sporadically from every front yard. Kids and adults set off Roman candles, sparklers, cherry bombs — a cacaphony of noise and sulphrous smoke filled the air — culminating in a mighty roar at the stroke of midnight.

And there was the food. [more…]

At this time of the year, I look forward to hosting a holiday party. A fresh evergreen wreath at the door, the tree decorated with hundreds of ornaments, mouthwatering aromas emanating from the kitchen, a blazing fire in the fireplace, friends coming in from the cold…our annual party is the highlight of the season for my family.

According to an American Demographics survey, I can expect that guests will spend 2 hours and 36 minutes at my party, as they will at each of the 2.7 parties they attend during the holiday season. I like guests to linger, so I should hope for more Hispanic friends since the survey says they will outlast the average non-Hispanic by 36 minutes. Or more friends from the Northeast who will stay even longer — four hours or more. The ones to avoid are Southerners, evidently; eight percent won’t even stick around for 60 minutes. [more…]

If people and cultures are bound by their food traditions, Thanksgiving is the unifying holiday that links all Americans to a common heritage. We may modify the traditional menu to include ethnic favorites such as salsa or sushi, or incorporate new culinary trends, like brines or rubs. But the tradition of turkey and stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, are imprinted in our taste memories and are the comfort foods we crave at Thanksgiving. [more…]