Ume trees.
There are three colors pink, red and white.
JAPANESE STRANGE FOOD
Raw eggs.
I didn't know that American people don't eat raw eggs.
When my friends and I enjoyed dinner, we talked about cooking eggs.
I said that in Japan people usually eat raw eggs every morning.
We often make simple food which is hot rice topped with a raw egg.
My friend was surprised, and said "No, thanks."
In Japan, we often eat curry and rice with a raw egg.
And when we eat the Japanese food, Sukiyaki, we use a raw egg in the dish to
prevent scalding.
Usually a Japanese style hotel provides a raw egg in every breakfast.
I like most kinds of eggs such as soft fried eggs, soft boiled eggs
and raw eggs.
Especially when I swallow only an egg yolk, I feel a happy moment.
Eggs are great food. They are nutritious, low priced, and easy to cook
in a variety of ways.
In Japan, most mothers who have a child of junior high school age make
a lunch of an egg every morning.
A fried egg is the most popular lunch in Japan.
I am sorry that American people can't eat raw eggs for fear of the
Salmonella bacteria.
Octopus called devilfish
I found frozen squid sold at near supermarket.
This package was made in China.
Squid is a popular fish in Japan. From long ago people have used the fish
with diverse processing, such as tempura, boiling, baking, canning and
dehydrating.
Especially dehydrated squid is called "Surume" which is a typical dried
fish in Japan.
From long ago people have offered to their gods a surume with other
seafood in the new year.
Surume can be preserved for a long time like beef jerky.
It's a typical snack food in Japan.
Octopus is also a popular fish in Japan. It's not considered strange,
but it is a familiar fish used for sushi, boiling and baking.
There is a Japanese phrase "Like a boiled octopus" which means an angry
person with a red face. Usually the phrase is used humorously.
Squid & octopus consist of pure protein and no fat. They are healthy foods.
I recommend selling more of them in America. People should cook them in
their homes.
Fortunately octopuses live only at sea. If they would have lived on shore,
people would fear them because their appearance is grotesque.
Terrible sour food "Umeboshi"
Japanese pickled plum "Umeboshi" is the food with the most sour in all the world.
If American people eat an umeboshi, they will say with a distorted face,
"I will never eat again."
But in Japan an umeboshi is a popular and useful food in all seasons and
everywhere. It is also a very healthy food.
The Japanese plum "Ume" is very different from a general plum or an apricot.
It is not sweet.
People never eat a raw ume because it contains poison.
I will explain umeboshi which is made with raw umes and salt.
The raw umes are salted for about two months. Ume vinegar seeps out of them.
Next, the umes are taken out and dehydrated by sunlight.
Then, the dried umes are soaked in ume vinegar. Sometimes perilla leaves are
added. The process is repeated at least twice.
From long ago umeboshi has been used to prevent the spoiling of rice.
people pack an umeboshi in rice for lunch.
When people lose their appetites, they eat umeboshi with their meals.
The acid maked the stomach work actively.
Umeboshi is a strong acid, but it makes alkaline in the body.
In Japan umeboshi is used in some foods, such as gum, candy, snacks and
others.
Umeboshi is a great invention of Japanese people from long ago.
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In March we can see
pretty blossoming of Ume trees. There are three colors pink, red and white.
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