Cooking with Ume Workshop
Featuring Umeboshi Products from Nakata Foods
Friday, January 17, 2020
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Instructor: Todd Van Horne of Nakata Foods
$50 Center Members
$60 General Public
We're excited to bring to the Center a new culinary workshop with Nakata Foods, Japan's top innovator and producer of ume for over 120 years! The salty, tart flavor of ume is one of many distinctly Japanese flavors and is most familiar to many as a flavoring for rice or onigiri rice balls, but it can be used for so much more! Come explore the versatility of ume as a cooking ingredient in this three course cooking workshop with former JET instructor Todd Van Horne, who now calls Japan home and works for the generational Nakata Foods company. In addition to preparing a delicious menu featuring Nakata's fine umeboshi products, Mr. Van Horne will also provide an informative presentation on the significance of ume production in the Wakayama area as well as insights on the growing and processing of ume fruit to produce Nakata Foods' line of distinguished ume products enjoyed throughout Japan.
Cooking with Ume Workshop Menu:
- Ume Bruschetta
- Ume Pasta
- Ume Simmered Saba (Mackerel)
- Workshop includes additional Nakata umeboshi product samples to take home!
About Nakata Foods
The Nakata Foods company was founded by nakata Gentaro in 1897 in the town of Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, in southern Japan. Since then they have supported the local economy by creating new ume (say oo-meh) trends and driving market demand. Their motto is ‘Our home’s flavor; our heart’s flavor.’ We are excited to share that around the world and with you!
Ume (sour Japanese plum) have been a part of Japanese culture for more than 1300 years, and have been an integral part of Tanabe’s landscape for centuries. Nanko-ume is the premier variety of ume, featuring a rich, apricot-like aroma and tart fruity flavor. Most of Japan’s Nanko-ume come from this area, and Nakata Foods uses only tree-ripened ones for its salted umeboshi, umeshu ume liqueur, and ume jams and sauces, imparting them with fragrance and flavor not found in other brands.
For more information on Nakata Foods and their products, please visit their website (in English) at: https://www.nakatafoods.com/