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osechi ryori
Dec. 31st, 2006 10:24 amOur kitchen and refrigerator are filling up with it, and yesterday (Saturday) the stores were packed with people busily collecting this and that for their version of osechi ryori. This is the New Year's feast.
Almost everyone agrees that it's not as good as it used to be. Back when New Year's meant the stores were closed from Jan 1 to about Jan 5, and everyone spent the time visiting family and friends, eating from whatever they had. Now the stores are open soon -- a mall near us proclaims that they will be open from 11 AM on Jan 1! And many people have the store-bought versions. But Mitsuko, like many, still makes at least some herself. Quite a bit of it was designed for eating cold over several days. So we have dried fish with a caramel coating, sweet beans in some kind of sauce, cooked fish cake, and so on.
It reminds me a little of the European holiday foods, also designed for keeping well without refrigeration. Stollen? German fruit bread that lasts well. For when the bakery isn't making daily bread. Fruitcake, of course.
So we'll have our New Year's day early morning nibbles, and then probably a few visits the first day or two. Right now, most people kind of get back to work about Jan. 3 or so. And of course, the grocery stores will be back in business fast.
Still, osechi ryori - people talk about it, shop for those foods they remember, and even the TV shows are doing various recipes and directions. Fun!
Almost everyone agrees that it's not as good as it used to be. Back when New Year's meant the stores were closed from Jan 1 to about Jan 5, and everyone spent the time visiting family and friends, eating from whatever they had. Now the stores are open soon -- a mall near us proclaims that they will be open from 11 AM on Jan 1! And many people have the store-bought versions. But Mitsuko, like many, still makes at least some herself. Quite a bit of it was designed for eating cold over several days. So we have dried fish with a caramel coating, sweet beans in some kind of sauce, cooked fish cake, and so on.
It reminds me a little of the European holiday foods, also designed for keeping well without refrigeration. Stollen? German fruit bread that lasts well. For when the bakery isn't making daily bread. Fruitcake, of course.
So we'll have our New Year's day early morning nibbles, and then probably a few visits the first day or two. Right now, most people kind of get back to work about Jan. 3 or so. And of course, the grocery stores will be back in business fast.
Still, osechi ryori - people talk about it, shop for those foods they remember, and even the TV shows are doing various recipes and directions. Fun!
