Cooking Sake seminar

Yesterday, I attended a seminar sponsored by Takara Shuzo, a major liquor company in Japan.  I've been using their cooking wine in class, so I was keen on learning more about their product.

The seminar started with a presentation on the characteristics of Takara's cooking wine. The major difference in their cooking wine which made it my first choice in choosing their product is that they do not add salt to their sake.

Most cooking sake in the market is added with salt together with other additives. The reason behind this is that it makes it unfit for drinking, so the liquor tax can be avoided and shops which do not have a liquor license can also handle the product.  Although it will be cheaper, it does sacrifice the taste and the characteristics of sake. 

Sake is one of the most important condiments in Japanese Cooking along with soy sauce and mirin, It has so much benefits you can not do without it. I've written more about this in my Grocery Guide Page, so if you are interested, please have a look.

The presentation was followed by a demo by the Chef of La Bonne Table, who used sake for cooking French Cuisine. The seminar ended with an extravagant lunch prepared by La Bonne Table. All the dishes used Takara's cooking sake which surprisingly was a great match with French dishes.