Food and Culture

Dear Frank,
        My friend David has invited us to his house for dinner and I would like to make a good impression on his parents so I have done a bit of research to help us understand their culture. Japanese culture is reflected in their diet. The farming and fishing communities, as well as government and urban life all influence Japanese cuisine. The Japanese culture places a lot of emphasis on the process of preparing and presentation of their food. Japanese cuisine is unique from the rest because unlike other cultures, is not based on ingredients, seasoning, or cooking techniques, but rather the appearance and presentation of the food. The dishes are designed to give pleasure to the eyes as well as the mouth. It is important to remember to say"hadaki-masu" before and "gochisou-sama" after the meal to express appreciation for the dinner. Three main dishes in a meal, which you should expect to, see are, rice, miso soup, and pickles. Japanese food is extremely healthy. They generally eat a lot of fish, seaweed, and soybean products, an example is sushi. At the table the meals are brought out together. Do not eat one dish at once; it is polite to eat rice, soup, and other dishes alternatively. Most of the foods are small; bite sized, and should be eaten with chopsticks. For sushi you may use your hands. Try not to make slurping noises while eating noodles. To eat your meal you should pick up your bowl/plate to eat. For side dishes there is no need to lift the bowl. If a large dish is brought out to be shared you should use the top clean end of your chopsticks to serve yourself. This is all information you should use when we go for the dinner, we want to make a good first impression. The dinner is tomorrow at 6pm at his house. See you there.