What Are Seasonal Foods in Japan?

Because of its spiritual foundations in Buddhism and Shintoism, Japanese  cuisine appreciates nature and seasonality. In addition, Japan has a diverse climate which is regulated by four distinct seasons, so fresh ingredients are readily available at specific times of the year.

Thus, the typical Japanese consumer will eagerly look forward to eating crunchy summer cucumbers, earthy autumnal mushrooms, fresh winter oysters, and early spring bamboo shoots, each in their specific growing time.

Spring

Some Seasonal Spring Ingredients:

Vegetables: Bamboo Shoots, Shitake, Potato

Fruits: Strawberry, Citrus, Cherry Blossoms

Fish: Flounder, Herring, Clams

Cherry Blossoms: A National Obsession

Sakura

Sakura or cherry blossoms have long been regarded as a symbol of the transient nature of life,  the underlying notion of Japanese spiritual and artistic tradition. Come the spring, everyone including preschool children, housewives, students, salarymen and seniors are celebrating Hanami or cherry blossom viewing at picnics held under cherry trees all over Japan. 

The Cherry Blossom Festival

For over one thousand years, cherry blossoms have been appreciated in Japan. Lady Murasaki's masterpiece novel, "The Tale of the Genji", illustrates a gathering of the royal family attending a Cherry Blossom Festival in tenth century Japan.

The Country Turns Pink

During the weeks leading up to cherry blossom season, the whole country works itself up into a frenzy of pink. Daily television forecasts map out the start of cherry blossom season in January in the southern islands of Okinawa stretching through to Tokyo in late March and ending on the northern island of Hokkaido in early May. Because of fluctuations in weather and temperature, cherry blossom season is difficult to predict.  But for Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo, late March to early April is usually a safe bet.

Cherry Blossoms Everywhere

Every neighbourhood convenience store, department store, hotel and restaurant offers some kind of pink sakura specialty. Cherry blossom essence is infused in anything from coca cola, coffee, tea, wine, sake, curry, crackers, desserts, and rice. Even Starbucks in Japan sprinkles cherry blossom petals on their lattes! Sakura are a national obsession. Ask any foreigner in Japan what the country's national symbol is, and they will probably answer, "Cherry Blossom".

Summer

Some Seasonal Summer Ingredients:

Vegetables: Eggplant, Cucumber, Edamame, Lettuce, Ginger, Shiso

Fruits: Peaches, Plums, Musk Melons, Cherries, Watermelon

Fish: Eel, Sea Urchin, Flounder, Mackerel, Sardine, Sea Bass

The Ubiquitous Pickled Plum

A fruit that is served with any type of traditional Japanese cooking is the pickled plum, otherwise known as umeboshi. Technically, umeboshi is made from a fruit that is somewhere between a western plum and an apricot.  This particular variety has a higher acidic content than regular plums so it is better suited to being pickled. 

As a traditional accompaniment to rice, the pickled saltiness of the plum adds an interesting flavour and texture. The sun ripened plums are dried and pickled in salt and vinegar. They are naturally dyed using akajiso (red shiso) leaves, sweetened with honey, or flavoured with such ingredients as kombu (kelp) or katsuobushi (dried shaved bonito). Since they have such a strong flavour, umeboshi are only eaten in small quantities and not all at once. They are to be nibbled rather than swallowed in one go!

Health Benefits

Traditionally, umeboshi are thought to have various health benefits namely to aid digestion or to cure colds and viruses. Rather than "eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away", the Japanese believe that eating umeboshi every day can heal many ailments. In fact an ancient proverb states that ume can kill three types of poison: those in food, water and blood. The citric acid found in the plums is believed to contain antibacterial qualities that may prevent food poisoning and fight fatigue. In the olden days, samurai carried umeboshi and rice balls to eat on their way to battle. In the early 1900s Japanese soldiers were sent off to war with boxed meals containing rice topped with a red umeboshi to remind them of their national flag.

Ume Chazuke

A favorite dish that is convenient and delicious any time of the day is Ume Chazuke, simply a bowl of rice topped with hot green tea and umeboshi. Of course other healthy ingredients can be added for extra nutrition such as flaked salmon, seaweed, or shaved bonito flakes.

This has always been a favourite snack in our household, taught to me by my mother-in-law who loved it in the morning for breakfast.  

Wakayama Premium Plums

Although plums are grown all over Japan, the most plums are cultivated and produced in Minabe, a small city along the coast of Wakayama. Here, the Nanko Ume variety of plums are considered the best in Japan because of their high acidity and firm flavourful flesh. These plums are pickled and sold as umeboshi, umeboshi paste, umeboshi candy or gum, and other delicious products. One of the most popular is umeshu, a Japanese liqueur made from steeping unripe plums in alcohol and sugar for 9 months. 

Autumn

Some Seasonal Autumn Ingredients:

Vegetables: Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Shiitake, Matsutake

Fruits: Chestnuts, Figs, Persimmon, Pear

Fish: Bonito, Mackeral, Ikura, Octopus, Chum Salmon

Chestnuts in Japanese Cuisine

Chestnuts: a Sign of Autumn

One of the sure signs of Fall is the earthy fragrance of roasted chestnuts wafting from stalls in temple flea markets or on street corners throughout Japan.

Chestnuts have been an important staple in the Japanese diet since the prehistoric era more than 9,000 years ago. In fact, chestnuts were more widely eaten than rice which had yet to be cultivated at that time. 

Kuri Gohan

Chestnuts are still eaten these days but more as a sweet or savoury item. Kuri Gohan (Chestnut Rice) is made by adding parboiled chestnuts to the rice cooker when steaming freshly harvested rice. The result is a nutty comforting Fall dish. 

Chestnut Themed Desserts

A well loved dessert in Japan is the Mont Blanc, a sinful pudding made from pureed chestnut and whipped cream topped with a sugared chestnut. This confection can be found for a cheap price at any neighbourhood convenience store - although this cheaper version may be made mostly from pureed sweet potato - to an exorbitantly priced version from an upscale patisserie.

Another popular chestnut snack  is Kuri Manju, a traditional pastry filled with pureed chestnut and white bean. These are delicious when nibbled with a steaming hot cup of green tea. During the New Year festivities, Kuri no Kanro-ni is enjoyed which is a traditional dessert from the olden days made from mashed sweet potato and mashed chestnuts cooked in syrup. 

Winter

Some Seasonal Winter Ingredients: 

Vegetables: Chinese Cabbage, Daikon, Lotus Root, Turnip

Fruits: Apples, Strawberries (hothouse), Mikan Oranges

Fish: Fugu, Oyster, Yellowtail, Hamachi

Strawberries are a National Favourite 

Strawberry Fields Forever

Although strawberries technically come into season in Japan from March to May, they are grown in hothouses during the winter ready for the Christmas and New Year festivities. In fact the most popular cake at Christmas is Strawberry Shortcake!

Tiny wild strawberries have been available in Japan for over a thousand years as Sei Shonagon, a Lady in Waiting at the Heian Courtcan mentions in "The Pillow Book", her journal of poems and essays written during the tenth century.   

Popular Strawberry Desserts

As Japan has such an abundance of varieties and because the growing season for strawberries is so long - from December to March in the hothouses and from March to early summer in the fields - there are hundreds of delicious cakes, cookies, desserts, sauces, wines, and teas made. The Ichigo Daifuku is one of the most popular springtime confectionaries and is made from a juicy fresh strawberry enveloped with soft, sweet rice dough. Another insanely popular product is a sandwich made from white bread filled with whipped cream and sliced fresh strawberries!