Which one is sugar?

In the recent post I wrote how you can distinguish salt from sugar at supermarkets.

Today I will focus on sugar, or sato (砂糖、さとう）in Japanese. Like salt, sugar is also sold in a transparent plastic bag.

Even if you cannot read kanji (Chinese character),  sugar can be easily recognized with the brand marks printed on the packages: a cup&saucer, a spoon and a pearl in the shell. These three major brands are available anywhere in Japan, even on a small remote island (I suppose...)

 

But be careful. The photos shown above are not of table sugar (=granulated sugar). Called "jobakuto" (上白糖、じょうはくとう）, it is a type of white refined sugar most commonly consumed in Japan but rarely found in any other countries (I don't know why).  Containing 1 percent of water and invert sugar to prevent clumping,  johakuto is more moist and sweeter than granulated sugar. 

If you want table sugar, you have to find guranyu-to (グラニュ糖、　グラニュとう）, meaning granulated sugar. I'll show you the packages of table sugar below.

I will explain  a little bit about sanonto (三温糖　さんおんとう）as well. It is the light brown-colored sugar often used for Japanese cuisine. Due to its color, many people mistakenly believe that sanonto is rich in minerals like dark brown cane sugar (known also as Barbados sugar), but it is wrong. The refining process of sanonto is almost the same as ordinary white sugar, and there is no big nutritional difference between them. They say that the characteristic caramelized flavor enriches the taste of some dishes, but I'm not sure about it (because I don't particularly have a keen sense of taste).



By the way, I'm normally using kibi-zato (きび砂糖、きびざとう）, or cane sugar made from "moderately" refined sugarcane juice, for making meals. It contains some minerals and has mild sugarcane flavor (not too strong).  I find it tasty and easy to use, but there's only one problem: you cannot make good caramel.  It doesn't melt. It just burns for some reason. For desserts, using granulated sugar seems better.

Today's useful expression:　グラニュ糖は　どれ　ですか。Granyu-to wa dore desuka?
It means "Which one is table sugar?"

*If you find any strange expressions or grammatical errors, please let me know. Thank you!

Which one is vinegar?

Hi everyone!
Yesterday I wrote about salt, and I decided to pick up vinegar today.
Vinegar is 酢（す）in Japanese, pronounced just "su" (only one syllable!)


The most commonly consumed vinegar in Japan is probably rice vinegar 米酢. It is pronounced either yonezu (よねず）　or komesu　(こめす）.  Yonezu sounds more correct, but it seems like many people today prefer to call it "komesu" .

This is the rice vinegar I'm using now. You can find various kinds of rice vinegar at any supermarkets and grocery stores, but to be honest, I don't see any big difference in taste between them. Maybe I don't have a keen sense of taste, but if you are not a professional cook, don't worry too much about which one to choose. Even the cheapest one in shop is not bad at all.

Cereal vinegar  (こくもつす　穀物酢 kokumotsu-su） made of corn, wheat and other cereals is also commonly used for cooking here. It tastes similar to rice vinegar but rice vinegar is a bit milder and more expensive. 


Apple vinegar  (りんごす　りんご酢 ringo-su）, imported white wine vinegar (ワインビネガー　wain binegaa) and Barsamic vinegar are available at any big supermarkets here,  but it is not easy to find good red wine vinegar for some reason.

I personally miss red wine vinegar and I might be able to find it at "high-class" international supermarkets like Kinokuniya, Meijiya, Seijo Ishii and National Azabu, but I feel reluctant to spend too much on what you can buy for 2 euros in Europe.

Today's useful expressions:
す　は　どれですか。　Su wa dore desuka?  = Which one is vinegar?
す　は　どこですか。　Su wa doko desuka? = Where is vinegar?

Please correct my English if you find any errors. Thank you !

 

Which one is salt?

Don't you think the most important seasoning in cooking is salt?

When I started living in Paris (I was there 2007-2010), the first things I bought at the local supermarket were salt and pepper. I had trouble getting pepper, though. Since I couldn't speak French back then, I asked a shop clerk in English where I could find pepper, but she didn't understand me. She took "pepper" for "paper. " 

Anyway, one of the questions I'm frequently asked by my students is: "Which one is salt?" 

If you have been to a Japanese supermarket, you know what their problem is. In Japan salt and sugar are usually sold in transparent plastic bags like the photo below, often placed near each other on the same display rack, which confuses many foreign customers, and sometimes even Japanese as well. They look so much alike.

Here is the salt I bought the other day. If you look carefully, you can read "Flake grade salt" on top of the bag, but I had never noticed that until now! 
 

This brand is called "あらしお arashio," and しお shio means salt.  To recognize salt, find the word しお　or 塩 in kanji (Chinese character) on the bag.
 

If you want to make sure, you can ask someone around you,  「これは　しお　ですか： Kore wa shio desuka?」　(Is this salt?)

Good luck!

By the way, I know my English is not perfect. I would be very appreciated if you could correct my grammatical & vocabulary mistakes. Thank you!