Everyone Eats, Understanding Food And Culture By E. N. Anderson

E. N. Anderson, the author of Everyone Eats, Understanding Food & Culture points out that amazing food achieves more than just an appeal to our sense of taste. Amazing food appeals to our other senses such as our sight. Ozoni, a traditional Japanese soup, is a wonderful example of a dish that is illustrates not only pleasure in its taste but also pleasure found in the beauty of its appearance. The Ozoni dish that I found for the beautiful food project also embodies the seven principles of Japanese design: simplicity, asymmetry, naturalness, subtlety, a break from routine, tranquility, and austerity. Ozoni is a traditional Japanese soup that is most significantly known as a dish eaten on the morning of Oshogatsu, the Japanese New Year festival. Although the dish can have varied ingredients depending on the region of Japan one lives in, it most commonly include daikon radish, carrots, mitsuba leaves, white miso

As discussed earlier Ozoni is part of a larger meal, Osechi. I chose this image because it displayed simplicity in that only the Ozoni was shown. This consequently allowed for the Ozoni to be the focal point without much distraction or clutter going on in the image. The diagonal placement of the wooden placemat and the chopsticks, along with the bowl that has been partial cropped in the image applies an element of asymmetry to the presentation. Essences of nature are seen in the use of the wooden placement, the flower pattern cutouts of the daikon radish and carrot, and in the mitsuba leaves garnish. Ingredients used in Ozoni, as mentioned earlier, are very inexpensive and easily accessible. The ingredients are basic and simple, although more extravagant and unnecessary ingredients can be added; the most common type of recipe is