City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Modern Japanese cuisine, food, power and national identity, Katarzyna J. Cwiertka

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrationsportraits

index present

non fiction

Modern Japanese cuisine

electronic resource

bibliographydictionaries

Katarzyna J. Cwiertka

food, power and national identity

'Modern Japanese Cuisine' explores the origins of Japanese cuisine as we know it today, investigating the transformations and developments food culture in Japan has undergone since the late 19th century., Over the past two decades, the popularity of Japanese food in the West has increased immeasurably-a major contribution to the evolution of Western eating habits. But Japanese cuisine itself has changed significantly since pre-modern times, and the food we eat at trendy Japanese restaurants, from tempura to sashimi, is vastly different from earlier Japanese fare. Modern Japanese Cuisine examines the origins of Japanese food from the late nineteenth century to unabashedly adulterated American favorites like today's California roll. Katarzyna J. Cwiertka demonstrates that key shifts in the Japanese diet were, in many cases, a consequence of modern imperialism. Exploring reforms in military catering and home cooking, wartime food management and the rise of urban gastronomy, Cwiertka shows how Japan's numerous regional cuisines were eventually replaced by a set of foods and practices with which the majority of Japanese today ardently identify. The result of over a decade of research, Modern Japanese Cuisine is a fascinating look at the historical roots of some of the world's best cooking and will provide appetizing reading for scholars of Japanese culture and foodies alike

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