A healthy trend has been on the rise for a few years. Since last year, the common feature among popular foods is "black color." I heard this is true not only in Japan, but throughout the world. In Korea especially, there are so many black foods on the market. Okay, I will introduce black-colored food in Japan.
Black soybeans
I wrote TV programs about health and wellness are so popular in Japan. One these big shows is Aru Aru Daijiten(JP). They ran a show specifically about the"power of black soybeans"(JP) one day. The next day I went to get some beans at the market after work. But they were sold out in two supermarkets!
[What are the benefits?]
Black soybeans help smooth the blood and are helpful to the blood vessels. This means it helps prevent high blood pressure and is healthy for the brain, in fact. Actually, on the TV program, some people's blood pressure went way down(JP) after only four days. It's because of cyanidin, a component in the skin of the beans. Cyanidin can be found in red wine; I suppose you've heard how red wine is good for your health. Anyway, in Japan, the Tanba area in Hyogo Pref. is a famous area of black bean products. People in this area have a much lower rate of blood pressure problems than the average in other parts of Japan. Since these are still soybeans, they have all the good features of regular soybeans too, like rich protein, Vitamin E and B and isoflavone.
[How to eat]
Black soybeans are part of Osechi ryori. Normally we boil beans with sugar and make them sweet, but because of this boom, we are eating black beans more often, and in familiar dishes:black beans and rice, added to regular curry, salad(JP) - anything is okay if you like it.
[Manufactured foods]
Black soy bean cocoa(JP), black soy bean tea(JP), black soy bean coffee(JP), black soy bean milk(JP).
This looks so delicious to me: black soy bean jelly(JP). I love this black soy bean natto!(JP) (since natto is our secret weapon, this would be the strongest variety, he he he). Anyway, there are countless black soy bean foods(JP) now.
Black vinegar
Black vinegar has seen a big boom. The most popular one disappeared from supermarkets last year because the maker could not keep up with demand. This is a very interesting site to understand the Japanese food industry's trends. They mention black vinegar as being a functional drink.
[Benefits]
Black vinegar is super rich in amino acids. It has 16 times the amino acid content of regular Japanese vinegar and 43 times the amount found in apple cider vinegar. Amino acid is very well known for its many functions. In Japan, the main production area is Kagoshima Pref. in Kyushu.
[How to eat]
I tried various types of black vinegar, from expensive ones to cheap ones, and personally I like this Mizkan one - actually, I can drink it straight without honey or sugar or water. My parents take this tablet(JP) because straight vinegar is too strong for them.
Black sugar (Raw sugar)
Black sugar is made from the sugar cane harvested in Okinawa (this is a good site to get to know Okinawa) and parts of Kagoshima, mainly. Sugar can be divided(JP) into two types, non-centrifugal and centrifugal. Black sugar is non-centrifugal in that it is made by boiling all the elements of sugar cane. Centrifugal sugar is regular white sugar that has had the molasses separated from the squeezed syrup of the cane. I could hardly find information about non-centrifugal sugar on foreign sites. Maybe this black sugar is unique to Japan. Black sugar has a strong sweetness and characteristic harshness, but it is not a bad one.
[Benefits]
Black sugar is one of Okinawa's specialties. So as a factor contributing to long life, people study aboutblack sugar. We know black sugar decreases the level of cholesterol and the neutral fat in blood and increases our resistance to stress. Most of all black sugar is very rich in potassium and works to lower blood pressure.
[How to eat]
Since usually black sugar comes in cubes, we can eat itstraight like candy. Of course we use it for our daily cooking, but because of its strong harshness, for sweets it is much better. We have so many sweets in Japan - I eat this black sugar bagel from the bakery Vie de France(JP). This caramel works very well when I'm tired and I also eat cookies, cocoa, candy, etc.
There are still more black foods, likeblack rice, black sesame, black sesame tofu, pudding, Nori, Hijiki, sea vegetables, squid ink (Santos, all your dishes are so great!! I am always so impressed). If you do'nt like or can't find black food around you, one good feature of black food is found in other products: Cyanidin is found in red wine, grapes, bilberries, blueberries, black cherries, cocoa powder, and similarly dark-colored foods. Please enjoy them in your own way.
block food. Sometimes Japanese say that eating food of various colors is an easy way to keep a balanced diet. white,yellow, black, red, green, orange, brown - like this!
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