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美食, 酒, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, sake, Tourism

Shizuoka Sake tasting: Takashima Brewery-Hakuin Zen Junmai

August 8, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

I just had the opportunity to obtain a limited edition (only 180 bottles) of a Junmai sake brewed by Takashima Brewery in Numazu City!

At +8 it is certainly very dry and furthermore it was made with sake rice exclusively grown in Shizuoka Prefecture!

To cap it all (not the sake! LOL) it was adorned with those great words of hope!

Takashima Brewery-Hakuin -Zen Junmai

Rice: all grown in Shizuoka Prefecture
Rice milled down to 65%
Yeast: Shizuoka NEW-5
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Dryness: +8
Production: 180 Bottles (1.8 l)
Bottled in June 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: Very discreet, fleeting. Fruity. Pineapple. Hints of coffee beans.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Softer attack than expected. Elegant and fleeting.
Fruity. Very complex. Custard, oranges, pineapple.
Lingers for a while with very dry notes of oranges and coffee beans.
Ends with long dry coffee beans notes backed by Junmai petillant.
Marries perfectly with food with little change.

Overall: A sake for all seasons!
Definitely at its best on its own, but marries so well with food.
I brought it to a BBQ and Japanese and expats kept coming back to it in spite of all the beer and wine available!
Even ladies appreciated it!
Another discovery!

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With a Glass,
Clumsyfingers by Xethia
Adventures in Bento Making, American Bento, Beanbento, Bento No1, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box, My Bento Box, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat; Bento Lunch Blog (German); Adventures In Bento; Anna The Red’s Bento Factory; Cooking Cute; Timeless Gourmet; Bento Bug; Ideal Meal; Bentosaurus; Mr. Foodie (London/UK); Ohayo Bento

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

美食, 酒, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, sake

Shizuoka Sake tasting: Suruga Brewery-Tenko Tokubetsu Junmai Homare Fuji

August 6, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Tenko/天虹 in English means “Heaven Rainbow” and is the name of the main brand produced by Suruga Brewery in Shizuoka City!
Incidentally Suruga Brewery is the “youngest” brewery in Shizuoka City and Prefecture!

They are refreshingly eclectic in their approach as they both promote old brands they acquired when they bought the rights from the defunct Yoshiya Brewery last year, and also Shizuoka-grown sake rice, namely Homare Fuji/誉富士/”Proud Mount Fuji”!

Suruga Brewery-Tenko Tokubetsu Junmai Homare Fuji

Rice: Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 60%
Dryness: +4
Acidity: 1.7
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Bottled in May 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: Strong and pleasant. Fruity: banana with hints of coffee beans and dark chocolate. Complex
Body: Fluid
Taste: Junmai petillant-dominated attack.
Very fruity and complex.
Starts liquorish in spite of its +4 dry status.
Lots of custard and almonds with notes of coffee beans, white chocolate and dark cherries.
Tends to turn drier with further sips.
Turns slightly drier with almonds and custard with food.
Smooth on the palate and easy to drink.

Overall: Unusual sake that, although dry, almost feels sirupy on the tongue.
Very complex and fruity.
Probably best drunk on its own at room temperature, but marries well with food.
Another sake you could drink as an “ice cram” if properly chilled!

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Shizuoka Shochu tasting: Sugii Brewer-Saisuke Shizuoka Imo

August 6, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Sugii Brewery/Distillery in Fujieda City has been noted for quite some time as producing not only top-class sake but alsoo shochu of a superlative level.
They also have the merit to use local ingredients whenever possible!

The imo, or satsuma imo/薩摩芋/sweet potatoes used in this shochu are exclusively grown in Shizuoka Prefecture!

Sweet potatoes (Shizuoka-grown)
Yeast: Shizuoka NEW-5
Kooji/麹: Yellow kooji
Distillation: Normal pressure type
Alcohol: 25.5 %
Bottled in March 2009

Clarity: very clear
Color: Transparent
Aroma: Strong. Nutty. Complex. Hints of pineapple and dry bananas
Body: fluid
Taste: Strong but smooth attack.
Lingers for a while warming up back of the palate.
More complex than expected.
Sweet but dry on the tongue.
Pineapple, nuts, dry almonds, walnuts.
Marries well with food.
Drunk on its own or on plenty of ice mainly reveals a dry nutty, almost sweetish strong accent to rapidly grow into a very dry invasion of the palate.

Overall: A shochu more elegant than expected!
Its strong nutty taste is very pleasant and marries well with any food.
I personally appreciate it on its own poured over a lot of ice like I do for any higher quality shochu, although great with the addition of lemon or lime juice or mixed with Perrier water!

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焼酎, 美食, 酒, 農業, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City

Shizuoka Shochu Tasting: Takashima Brewery: “En” Sherry Barrel Matured Rice Shochu

July 31, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

Takashima Brewery in Numazu City has been justifiably considered for the past few years as one of the most daring Sake Breweries in Japan.
Not only content with producing nationally recognized sakes, they also make use of the sakekasu/white lees of their premium sakes into some extraordinary rice shochu!

Having distilled the sakekasu into shochu spirits they store the latter in sherry barrels inported from Spain to mature for at least two years.
The result is a unique nectar the color of wood.
Actually, the first time they submitted it for registration with the Japan Bureau of Taxes and Excise, it was refused for the somewhat pernicious reason it was too dark and resembled too much to whisky!

Takashima Brewery: “En” Sherry Barrel Matured Rice Shochu

Rice
Alcohol: 25~26%

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Wooden, light brown orange
Aroma: Strong. Alcohol. Plums, oranges.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Fruity and complex.
Plums, nuts.
Disappears quickly warming up the back of the palate for a long time.
Both elegant and puissant.
Fruits keep reappearing with every sip.
Very reminiscent of whisky and anturally dry sherry.

Overall: Extremely elegant and rare shochu!
Probably a unique taste in the whole of Japan.
Drinks easily.
So complex that it requests many a sip to properly discern it.
Should be drunk poured over a lot of ice.
Mixing it with water, or anything else for that matter, would be tantamount to infanticide!

Takashima Brewery
410-0312 Shizuoka prefecture, Numazu Shi, Hara, 354-1 ( a few minutes walk from Hara JR Station)
Tel: 055-966-0018
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Sugii Brewery-Suginishiki Yamahai Junmai Homare Fuji Genshu

July 30, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

The name of this brew just made by Sugii Brewery in Fujieda City seems indeed a long story!
Yamahai is the old traditional natural way of making sake shunned by many breweries but not so much here where this brand of sake is increasingly becoming popular!

It has two great nerits: it is made with Homare Fuji sake rice grown in Shizuoka Prefecture and it is a junmai (no alcohol added) genshu (no water added). Practically untouched!

Rice : Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 70%
Alcohol: 18~19 degrees
Dryness: -1.0 (sweet by Shizuoka standards)
Acidity: 2.2
Yeast: Association No 7
Pasteurised only once
Brewed in 2010
Bottled in July 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Faint golden hue
Aroma: Fruity: banana,, custard, pears.
Body: fluid
Taste: Dryish attack with a lot of pears and junmai petillant.
Complex. Fruity: Pears, oranges, custard.
Pears lingering in the back of the mouth for a while.
Very pleasant and easy to drink.
High alcohol contents affect taste very little.
Turns quickly dry after a sweetish start in spite of its -1.0 status (sweet).
Oranges, pears, black cherries and even almonds keep coming back with further sips.
Changes little with food.

Overall: Very pleasant sake in spite of its Yamahai genshu status which just shows how great skills can help make such a supposedly strong sake easy to drink.
Complex and surprising.
Although obviously designed to accompany food it is best enjoyed on its own slightly chilled. It could reveal other facets if served lukewarm/nurukan.
Certainly one of the best sake made with Homare Fuji rice I’ve ever had the pleasure to taste!

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Hana No Mai Brewery-Junmai Chyo Kara Kuchi

July 26, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Hana No Mai Brewery in Hamamatsu City usually make their sake with their own sakamai/sake rice.
They are known to produce comparatively soft sakes in the Prefecture, but they do have a few brews for fans who like their sakes with more character.

This junmai (no pure alcohol added) has the particularity to be very dry/Chyo kara kuchi/超辛口 and is advertized as such!

Hana No Mai Brewery: Junmai Chyo Kara Kuchi/花の舞酒造・従並み超辛口

Rice: Shizuoka Yamada Nishiki
Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Bottled on May 30th, 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: Fruity: banana, pineapple
Body: Fluid
Taste: Lighter attack than expected. Very dry.
Complex and fruity; Oranges, pineapple, custard.
Lingers for a while with dry almonds and hints of coffee beans.
Junmai petillant coming late.
Turns slightly sweeter with food.
Makes a very dry comeback as soon as away from food with a lot of oranges and coffee beans.
Alcohol seems to be more noticeable in spite of usual content.

Overall: As its name indicates, a very dry sake!
Made headier for it if drunk slightly chilled but could be interesting drunk as nurukan/lukewarm as noticed in many local izakayas. It is no wonder to find it in the same izakaya as it has obviously been designed to marry with heavy food!
For dry sake lovers!

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Negami Brewery-Tokubetsu Junmai

July 25, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

When I visited Mr. Negami in his brewery in Gotemba City 550 metres up Mount Fuji, I asked him, “Why do you make only Junmai Sake (Sake to which no pure alcohol is added)? After all, you are none among only thirteen in the whole of Japan!”
Before giving me the answer, the brewmaster explained he visited my France, my home country, where he loved the wines so much and then finally replied, “Do you add alcohol to wines? Why should I?”
Although technically incorrect (Port wines for example), I tend to agree with him!

Negami Brewery-Kinmei Tokubetsu Junmai

Rice: Yamada Nishiki
Alcohol: 15%
Water: Mount Fuji Source Water
Bottled in May 2011

Clarity: very clear
Color: Light golden hue
Aroma: Fruity and powerful
Custard, banana.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Fruity attack backed by Junmai petillant
Complex. Oranges, custard, caramel, almonds.
Pleasantly lingers for a while warming up the back of the palate.
Starts liquorish to quickly turn dry.
Dry oranges make a comeback with a faint note of white chocolate, macadamia nuts and coffee beans.
Marries so well with food!

Overall: Very pleasant sake fit for any time of the day or night, chilled or at room temperature!
Drinks so easily.
Personally I prefer to drink it as it is at room temperature on its own for the sheer pleasure of a straightforward sake combining the tastes of old and new!

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Shizuoka Sake tasting: Doi Brewery-Kaiun Hana no Ka Junmai Ginjo Genshu Nama Nigori Homare Fuji

July 20, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

When looking for unusual brews you do have to keep your eyes wide open!
To think that Doi Brewery in Kakegawa City put out only 100 bottles of this particular sake by I consider myself lucky to have noticed it in the small supermarket inside the JR Station of the same city!

You do also have to keep your eyes open (that is, if you can read Japanese!) for the comments written on various parts of the bottle:
“霞か雲かにごり酒/kasumi ka kumo ka nigori sake” meaning, “A haze or a cloud? A troubled (like in troubled waters) sake”.
Nothing negative about it as the Japanese call “nigori/impure-troubled” a sake which was not separated from the white lees.
In this case they left just enough of the white lees to create a “haze”!

The name alone of this brew certainly makes for a long sory!

Doi Brewery-Kaiun Hana no Ka Junmai Ginjo Genshu Nama Nigori Homare Fuji
Doi Brewery: name of the Brewery located in Kakegawa City
Hana no Ka: The Flower Perfume, name of a special series of sake
Junmai Ginjo: the level of the sake. Junmai also denotes the fact that no pure alcohol was added
Genshu: unaltered sake to which no pure water has been added
Nama: unpasteurized
Nigori: in this cas more or less unfiltered
Homare Fuji: name of the rice. Homare Fuji rice is exclusively grown inside Shizuoka Prefecture

Doi Brewery-Kaiun Hana no Ka Junmai Ginjo Genshu Nama Nigori Homare Fuji/土井酒造・花の香純米吟醸原酒生にごり誉富士

Rice: Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 55%
Alcohol: 17 degrees
Yeast: Shizuoka Yeast
Limited to 100 bottles
Bottled in March 2011

Clarity: Very clear if unshaken. Smoky if shaken (white lees)
-Color: Transparent if unshaken, whitish, cloudy if shaken
Aroma: Strong fruity alcohol. Banana, custard
Body: Fluid
Taste: Not as strong as expected. Pleasant and easy to drink.
Fruity, almost liquorish. White lees do not influence taste as much as expected.
Fruity: oranges, banana, hints of coffee beans and dark chocolate.
Varies little with food.
Disappears quickly and pleasantly with oranges, lemon, and notes of almonds.
Great balance between acidity and slight sweetness.

Overall: For all the fact it is a nigori, it revealed itself as softer and more pleasant than expected.
The higher alcohol is barely noticeable.
Marries so well with any food, especially heavy izakaya fare.
If chilled could be drunk as a dessert wine or liqueur!
A discovery!

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Negami Brewery-Tokubetsu Junmai Nama

July 20, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Negami Brewery has the particularity of being the highest located brewery in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Some time ago they had to move from their original place near Gotemba Station to a spot 550 meters high on the slopes of Mount Fuji to dig a well into Mount Fuji to use its Water!

Negami Brewery also has this particularity to produce only junmai style sake, that is, no pure alcohol is ever added!
This brew is a nama, meaning it wasn’t sterilized!

Negami Brewery-Tokubetsu Junmai Nama

Rice: Yamanishiki 100%
Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 15 degrees
Water: Mount Fuji water
Bottled in June 2011

Clarity: very clear
Colour: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: discreet. Sweetish. Fruity: banana
Body: Fluid
Taste: Junmai petillant attack backed by pleasant alcohol
Complex and fleeting. Fruity.
Disappears fairly quickly.
Dry, reminiscent of of a dry white wine.
Pineapple, faint almonds.
Liquorish comeback with second sip. Oranges and pears coming later.
Turns soft with food. Very feminine.

Overall: A very soft approach to sake.
Can be appreciated in many ways but is best at room temperature.
Ladies will love it!

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Shizuoka Products at Hamamatsu City Railway Station

July 7, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

As a general rule it is always a good idea to check inside major railway stations in Japan for local food and products.
And since Shizuoka Prefecture has no less than 6 (the record in Japan) major shinkansen/bullet train station, you ought to spend some time looking around before boarding your train!

This time I will take you around Hamamatsu Railway Station, or JR Station as they call such a building in Japan!

It is quite easy as most shops are concentrated inside the “May One Ekimachi” Store!

Right at the entrance you will discover the biscuit of the area: unagi pie/eel pie! There is no eel in this sweet biscuit. It’s only the color which is reminiscent of the famous fish bred and caught in the Hamamatsu City area!

Have a good look at the ekiben/railway bento before boarding your train. Ekiben are always the best indication of what people eat in the same region!

Here are the real unagi/鰻/eels prepared in various fashions!

Processed products of wasabi. Shizuoka Prefecture grows 80% of the total national crop!

More wasabi processed products including salt, mayonnaise and dressing!

Real fresh wasabi!

Sakes brewed by Hana no Mai Brewery, one of the two breweries in Hamamatsu City!

Tea and orange roll cakes!

Another specialty of Hamamatsu City: simmered eel livers!

More ekiben/railway station bento!

Green tea rusks (hard biscuits!)

A closer look at unagi pie!

Uogashi Sushi Company (from Yaizu City!) has big restaurant inside where you will be able to get all kinds of meals including purely local sushi!

Great plastic models for collectors and fans!

And more!

Another specialty of Hamamatsu City: gyoza dumplings always served with beansprouts!

Oden! More a specialty of Shizuoka City, although all big cities and areas in the Prefecture have their own!

A great health food from Lake (salted) Hamana: seaweed!

Orange cakes and jellies!

Now, what will be the next of the 6 stations I will introduce! LOL

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French Cakes and Blueberries in Hamamatsu City: Abondance!

July 7, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

I paid a belated visit to Abondance owned by Bernard Heberle, a French national like me, in Hamamatsu City to see how well he was doing.
Mind you, I didn’t worry a iota as he has recently been elected the best Cake Shop in the Prefecture!

You can’t miss the elegant blue-colored shop in front of the Seirei Hospital!

Not many cake shops have a doormat, a sure sign of attention to customers?

The man himself who has been running his shop among many other concerns for the past 9 years!
Bernard hails from Souffleheim in Alsace, France!

His “Cuisinier de France” award!

Bernard has a passion for anything called a Citroen car!

Sophisticated biscuits are waiting for you!

And of course elegant macarons!

And now the cakes!
I didn’t have much time checking the names for fear to bother the customers!
Taking photographs was already quite a scramble!

I love the marbled chocolate finish!

Cassis cakes with locally-grown blueberries and raspberries!

Snow in Summer?
Don’t forget to check Abondance’s Homepage for the right names!

A fruit rainbow?

Cream to savor with a fork?

True millefeuille!

A favorite of mine with the little macarons!

Those two look like intimate lovers!

Bernard’s best seller!
Now, where do all these blueberries come from?

Well, Bernard always tries to get his seasonal fruit locally and his blueberries are grown for him at Aoitori Blueberry Orchard in Hamamatsu City!

Bernard with Satoshi Satoh/佐藤聡さん, first-generation blueberry grower for the last five years!

You can also pick blueberries there in season for a very reasonable fee!

A very clean and modern orchard where no pesticides are allowed!

Satoh San cultivates 20 varieties of these beauties for a regular supply.
Incidentally, he also grows some trees for Bernard’s sole use!

Aerial water supply!

Bernard’s trees are hidden behind these!

All fruits are ripened on the trees. These will be late bloomers.

Can’t wait to eat these when fully ripe!

Impressive crop!
Next, bernard is trying to convince Satoh San to grow raspberries!

ABONDANCE
430-0906 Hamamatsu City, Naka Ku, Sumiyoshi, 2-14-27
Tel.: 053-473-8400
Business hours: 10:00~20:00
Closed on Tuesdays and 3rd Wednesday
HOMEPAGE

AOITORI ORCHARD
431-1202 Hamamatsu City, Nishi Ku, Gomatsu machi, 2497
Tel.: 053-487-1092
Fax: 053-487-2750
Mobile: 090-7672-7886
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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Quiche Plate at Cafe Belle Equipe Vegetable

July 6, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Service: Very friendly if a bit shy
Facilities: Very clean. Beautiful toilets
Prices: Reasonable. Very good value
Strong points: Healthy food. Great set lunches. Beautiful array of cakes.

There are times when you 1) are in a hurry, 2) do not want to eat too much, 3) are hungry, 4) and want to stay healthy…
This is when you are happy to know a place like Cafe Belle Equipe Vegetable within quick distance in the middle of your city!
They serve full plate meals at any time of the day that have the merit to be very healthy, fresh, well-balanced and satisfying without contributing unwanted calories.
Mind you, I’m having a hard time staying away from their cakes (which I somehow managed to do this time!)!

This time I ordered the Quiche Plate (or the “Quiche set” as they say in Japanese) which comes with two different small bread buns.

The buns are not only delicious but they come freshly baked with real butter! They nicely contribute to the whole balance and add the good bite feeling to the whole lunch!

As usual the plate comes with plenty of fresh local vegetables!

Now I must say I have a little weakness for this vegetable (and eggs) quiche filled with sweet onions and potatoes and topped with real tomato. The crust is soft and light and actually adds another satisfying note.

And the meat part is provided with a small hot spicy sausage!

It should satisfy any appetite until dinner!

CAFE BELLE EQUIPE VEGETABLE
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Tenmacho,, 10-1, Villa Tenmacho, 2F
Tel.: 054-251-0200
Business hours: l0:00~22:00 (11:00~22:00 on Saturdays & Sundays, 11:00~21:00 on National Holidays)
Parties (small to large) welcome! Special party menus.
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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Japanese Cuisine: Obune in Kikugawa City!

July 5, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

Service: very friendly if a bit shy
Equipment: very clean around. Traditional
Prices: appropriate
Strong points: Traditional and new Japanese cuisine. Incredible Champagne list!

For long Kikugawa City was a bit of “forgotten country” until only recently.
Things are starting to change for the better as more and more people take advantage of the cheaper rents to move there. The city has also greatly improved and refurbished its image.
To cap it all some very good restaurants are also emerging for the pleasure of the increasing population!

One such place is Obune/おぶね.
I had the occasion to visit the place in the company of co-workers during an anniversary dinner and make acquaintance with his chef/owner Mr. Kazuki Takagi/高木一樹 and sample his cuisine!

This is traditional Japan although the gastronomy is modern!

I always have an eye for the Shizuoka sake… and this is an almost impossible to obtain line of premium sake from Isojiman Brewery in Yaizu City! The boxes only are collector’s items!

The six of us had isolated themselves in a separate room but I could take a peek through the lattice!

This is the sake we partook of: First-class Isojiman Daiginjyo made with Aiyama Sake rice milled down to 50%!

Someone might have thought we were drinking wine!

And then we started the feast:
Cream Cheese with Junsai/a kind of mountain vegetable.

“Mehikari/芽光, a deep-sea fish from Aichi Prefecture!

“Ikura no imushi/イクラの飯蒸し, rice and salmon’s roe steamed together!

O tsukuri/sashimi plate/dish: Honmeji maguro/Honmeji tuna, Suzuki/Sea bass and Madako/Octopus!

A favorite of mine: lukewarm ankimo/frogfish liver or “Japanese Foie gras”!

Fuji No Kuni Pork shabu shabu with home-made gomadare/sesame dressing!

Zucchini Dry Curry served the Japanese way!

White mushrooms from Fuji City on steamed Kyokankamo egg plant and sweet and sour sauce/ankake!

Akadasi miso soup!

Fukuroi City Lemon Sorbet! A beauty!

I’m planning to visit the place again by myself but don’t tell anyone!

OBUNE/Traditional & Contemporary Japanese Foods (as on the business card!)
439-0031 Kikugawa City, Kamo, 1948
Tel.: 0537-35-4030
Business hours: Lunch, 11:30~14:00. Dinner, 17:30~23:00
Closed on Mondays or the next day in case of a National Holiday
Credit Cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Takashima Brewery-Hakuin Masamune Honjozo

July 5, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Takashima Brewery in Numazu City is not only celebrated for its inventiveness and daring but also for actively supporting Shizuoka Gastronomy in general!

Not everyone knows, but Suruga Bay is the home of the greatest number of varieties of edible seaweeds.
Takashima Brewery started to introduce the fact on labels since last year!
The present one is called Champalone by its scientific name!

Moreover, Takashima Brewery has always been careful about the design of their labels, real collector’s items!
The present brew also includes Homare Fuji rice grown in Shizuoka Prefecture!

Takashima Brewery-Hakuin Masamune Honjozo

Rice: Homare Fuji 22&
Rice milled down to 60%
Aichi no Kaori: 78%
Rice milled down to 65%
Yeast: Shizuoka NEW-5
Alcohol: 14~15 degrees
Dryness: +6
Acidity: 1.5
Bottled in May 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Colour: Light golden hue
Aroma: Strong. Fruity. Alcohol. Complex. Pineapple, oranges, banana.
Body: fluid
Taste: Liquorish attack with a strong alcohol back up.
Starts almost sweetish to disappear with very dry almonds.
Complex. Fruity. A lot drier on the second sip.
Almonds, coffee beans. Faint notes of citrus.

Overall: Typical brew from Takashima brewery who concoct their sake both to marry well and food and satisfy the curiosity of true sake lovers.
A somewhat mysterious sake which will surprise many. Very dry for Shizuoka sake and certainly not obeying the trends!
A favorite of mine!

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美食, 農業, French gastronomy, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes

French Cuisine with Shizuoka Ingredients: Stuffed Zucchini!

July 4, 2011 dragonlife 8 Comments

I always check the Agriroad Market in Miwa, Shizuoka City, where they sell products grown by local farmers’ wives and I have a weak spot for those enormous round yellow zucchinis!
Yesterday as I had a little more time than the Missus I prepared dinner and cooked us a stuffed zucchini!

I would have needed both of my hands to circle it completely!

Although it looked plain and seedless, it actually contained many soft large seeds inside.
I scooped all the inside with a sharp spoon first.

Once I had emptied the zucchini of its seeds there was not much left of its flesh which suited me fine as I didn’t want the vegetable to have too thick walls before cooking it.
I chopped whatever was left finely.

I also finely chopped 1/4 of a medium-large onion, 1/4 of a medium-sized carrot and two big cloves of garlic.

I fried the finely chopped vegetables in some olive oil until they had lost most of their water.
I used about 250 g of minced pork and beef mixture, 2 very full teaspoons of freshly grated parmegiano cheese and plenty of fresh basil leaves from my balcony.
I first thoroughly mixed the meat with the vegetables and cheese seasoned with coarsely ground pepper and hot spices. No need for salt as there was enough in the cheese (and the bacon later!). Mind you, this is where you can play with spices, herbes and salt according to your preferences!

I first lined the whole inside of the zucchini with soft bacon.

I lined the bottom half with basil leaves.

I stuffed the bottom half with the meat filling and lined the top half of the zucchini with more basil leaves.

I finally filled the zucchini with the rest of the meat.
I tapped the meat until I was sure there was no air pockets inside.

I topped it with its “hat”, sprinkled olive oil all over it and baked it in the oven first for 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

That is how it came out first. The meat was still raw inside.
Next I put it back with the hat off for 15 more minutes into the oven at 200 degrees Celsius.