Introduction to Japanese Cuisine: Nature, History and Culture (The Japanese Culinary Academy's Complete Japanese Cuisine)

As the world gets smaller, the pace of "fusion" in national cuisines seems to be picking up. What I loved about this book is that for too many people, Japanese cuisine is sushi or sukiyaki. Of course that is way wide of the mark, and this book is a very good introduction to the art and craft of the food of Japan. This is no accident since the Japanese Culinary Academy was founded to disseminate information and teaching about Japanese cuisine. So if you just want to learn about the philosophy and craft of Japanese cooking so that you can enjoy it more fully, this book will be a terrific primer. But if you also want to cook Japanese food, it will give you a firm foundation to build on. And not only that, but there are lessons to be learned for whatever you cook. I'm glad I bought it.

A must for anyone seeking knowledge about the culture and cuisine

I am not qualified to give a proper evaluation of this book, but speaking as an American who is interested in Japanese food and culture I will say I intend to purchase the rest of the volumes in the series when they are published.

Good

This book is exactly as presented by its publisher: the introductory volume to an ongoing multi-volume encyclopedia of Japanese Cuisine, its history, philosophy and techniques. It's aimed primarily at young Japanese chefs and foreign chefs, but it has much to offer to non-professionals like me with a deep enough interest in Japanese culture and food in particular, and it's a very accessible book (especially this volume). It's more the interest in a depth of details on topics of history, philosophy, the key techniques, the religious aspects, seasonality and the festival food through the year that should be factored in the decision to purchase - this book expands what normally gets covered in a few pages or at best a chapter on "introductory topics" in Japanese cookbooks for foreigners to a full 200+ pages. From cover to cover it's a wonder to look at (comparable to the quality of a book like Modernist Cuisine), with outstanding photography and a great layout. The basics recipes are very useful as reference, the more elaborate ones interesting to read and for inspiration if not all necessarily accessible to an average home cook.

Amazing

Die beste Serie zur japanischen Küche. Die Bilder sind dermaßen ästhetisch, das habe ich bisher in keinem anderen Kochbuch (außer den anderen Bänden dieser Serie) gefunden. Auch wenn die Gerichte nicht unbedingt für den Hobbykoch zu empfehlen sind, kann man das Werk nur begrüßen und sich inspirieren lassen.

Great book Fast delivery

En el libro tiene más peso el conocimiento sobre la cultura gastronómica japonesa, detallando más los orígenes y simbolismo de cada plato e ingredientes, siendo las recetas expuestas de manera bastante escueta.