In Japanese language, we have some interesting vocabulary to describe some season-related ideas. Regarding poetry, 風物詩, fuubutsushi, "means things which reminds one of a particular season". You might hear this word to describe imagery that people associate with specific seasons.

For instance, fireworks, cicadas, watermelon and shaved ice, these are all typical elements of a classic Japanese Summer. Meanwhile, snow, kotatsu and nabe are strongly associated with Japanese Winter. Cherry blossoms and hanami remind people of Spring. Red dragonflies and colorful Fall leaves are big staples of Autumn. You can see these groups of iconic elements appear on advertisement, children's drawings, stationery...

Another word that is relevant to today's talk is 季節物 (kisetsumono): seasonable goods. The words 期間限定 (kikan gentei) - limited time offer - and 季節限定 (kisetsu gentei) - seasonal only - are often used to promote all kind of products in the market. Clothing, drinks, snacks, events...

(Experiencing the culture season-limited products is fun, but yeah, sometimes saying goodbye is tough! Well, that's how nature works. Brevity and fleetingness... Don't be sad, the following season might be exciting too. Also, next year you might see your favorite kisetsu gentei back to the shelves... Perhaps even something even more interesting and delightful, who knows?)

How food and cooking is related to all of these things?

During the scalding Summer, one can expect cold, refreshing dishes served on icy blue pottery. Japanese Summer can be very harsh on people; such thoughtful setup relieves the guests from the stressful high heat. Similarly, during the colorful Spring, one can expect a lot of freshly harvested sansai ( 山菜 - mountain vegetables), served on a very colorful plate. It's time to celebrate the blooming of beautiful flowers!

The single kanji for Shun [旬] is a word that represents what ingredients are the best of each season, the prime from the lands and the seas. An ingredient that is going through its Shun period means that it is either available only during that season or that it tastes much better during that period.

Shun and the Japanese cuisine

Certain recipes are specially devised to be made during limited weeks only. Why? Because some ingredients only appear during a particular period of time.

For example, Japanese plums' Shun season happens only at the beginning of Summer!...

One famous case is takenoko, bamboo shoots, which are very different if harvested during the beginning of the Spring. That's the period when the snow from the mountains have just melted. Differently from the usual ones, the takenoko from the beginning of the Spring are much sweeter and delicate. It's delicious!

Shun has also close ties with Japanese ancient medicine. If one base their diet on shun ingredients, they will have a very healthy life. If one is able to enjoy the seasons fully, they can achieve balance and happiness in life.

In Winter, Shun vegetables such as onions and garlic help heating the body. Likewise in Summer, vegetables such as cucumbers and tomatoes are very refreshing. Unagi (Japanese eel) is a popular Shun dish that gives extra energy to endure the heat.

Indeed, due to globalization and trade between countries in modern days, there were naturally changes on fresh ingredients' availability. However, shun has not lost its meaning: it is part of the local culture and strongly influences people's daily lives.

From ancient rice planting and harvest ceremonies, Japan still celebrates the four seasons through festivals, rituals, seasonal restaurant menus and why not, supermarket promotions too. Being mindful about Shun allows you experience different vegetables, fruits and a lot of other ingredients that you normally wouldn't consider trying at all.

Food and cooking and Japan makes you definitely feel the passage of time - it's good to appreciate and enjoy good moments while they last!

A basic dashi is usually composed by three ingredients: kombu, a dried ingredient (such as katsuobushi, niboshi, hotate, dried shiitake) and water. 

Flavors within this stock/soup are really subtle, that's why water plays an important role on the quality of your dashi. If any strong and/or strange flavor is present in the water, that will be highly enhanced by umami, resulting in a quite strange taste. Hence the importance of using a neutral taste water for very subtle recipes.

Dashi extraction relies on two main variables: temperature and time. Compared to other traditional stocks around the world, dashi is very sensitive to temperature, so boiling dashi water with will end up taking away part of its components. 

Kombudashi can be made using both cold and hot extractions, yielding similar results with subtle differences. On the other hand, other ingredients such as katsuobushi and niboshi must consider how much flavor from the ingredients you aim to extract. Delicate recipes calls for shorter extraction time to avoid an excessively “fishy” taste. 

Essentially, there are two types of dashi: Ichiban Dashi and Niban Dashi.

Ichiban dashi (一番出汁)

Ichiban dashi, or “First dashi”, is the dashi made from the first extraction of dry ingredients: kombu + katsuobushi/niboshi/etc.

Firstly, kombudashi is extracted (hot or cold), followed then by the extraction of other ingredients. This dashi yields a very clear and delicate stock. An intense, smoky flavor can be felt from it. It is used for suimono, nabemono and other dishes where delicate flavors and the smoky smell are really important. 

The ingredients used for ichiban dashi is stored to make niban dashi.

Niban dashi (二番出汁)

Niban dashi, or “Second dashi”, is the dashi made from the ingredients used for ichiban dashi. This dashi is made by adding the ingredients to water, boiling everything and pressing it through a cheesecloth. 

This dashi is not as clear as ichiban dashi; however, it presents a much stronger taste. It is used as an all-purpose dashi that does not require much finesse. It is also a smart good and economic way to use dashi ingredients.

After studying and reading several books from different authors, I found out that the most adequate method to make a dashi is... well, thankfully there is no absolute method. 

Chefs have their own unique dashi preparation steps defined by their personal experience. Their ingredients of choice also vary a lot! In other words, dashi is almost like a personal method, reflecting the spirit and style of a chef.