The Essence of Japanese Cuisine: An Essay on Food and Culture [Hardcover]

Michael Ashkenazi (Author), Jeanne Jacob (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2000

"It was a most exquisite repast, a veritable feast of the senses." Such is the fond memory of Michael Ashkenazi and Jeanne Jacob of a late summer meal in Japan which in every taste, texture, and aesthetic detail signaled the turning of the season. Vividly describing this and countless other fine meals, The Essence of Japanese Cuisine seats the reader at a table rich in culinary tradition.

From menu arrangement to cooking techniques, course selection to entertainment styles, The Essence of Japanese Cuisine studies the Japanese meal and the historical, social, and economic principles that underpin Japanese food culture. Drawing from extensive fieldwork, surveys, and sources ranging from contemporary shop advertisements to classical writings and paintings, Ashkenazi and Jacob analyze how meals are structured, where food is prepared, where it is consumed, and what rituals and cultural rules define the art of the Japanese food event. Their personal experiences as diners serve as sensory tools for examining Japanese cuisine and its place in Japanese society, and they draw as well on Japanese and other culinary studies from such writers as Goody, Harris, Brillat-Savarin, Fisher, Ishige, and Mennell. The book concludes by assessing some of the lessons that can be learned from the Japanese dining experience, especially as Japanese cuisine takes its place among world foods.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Delicious facts and ideas to savor"—Wall Street Journal

About the Author

Michael Ashkenazi has written scholarly articles on Japanese religion, business, and food. Jeanne Jacob is a scholar and author on Japanese art, crafts, and food.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (October 26, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812235665
• ISBN-13: 978-0812235661
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Disappointing Book, July 27, 2009

By 

Barbara Nostrand "Barbara Nostrand" (Syracuse, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Essence of Japanese Cuisine: An Essay on Food and Culture (Hardcover)

I received my copy recently, and have begun thumbing through it. Despite the time the authors spent in Japan and the support of the Japan Foundation, the book is immediately disappointing. Beginning with describing the color of takuan as "vile", I quickly discovered a variety of errors in the book. For example, the authors misidentified what a hot water kettle sits on in a tea ceremony. The iron implement which supports the kettle is properly called a godoku or gotoku. The kettle sits within either a ro (sunken hearth) or furo (portable hearth).