Cooking Fresh Is Best

The best Chefs across the globe will attribute their most famous dishes to the quality of the produce they have at their fingertips. Ingredients that when eaten raw or cooked fresh are bursting with flavor and retain the much-needed nutrients that enhance our diets and keep us healthy.

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Yamasa Shoyu is known for pairing especially well with fresh, seasonal food. Unlike other soy sauce brands, our shoyu is designed to complement rather than mask flavor, ensuring each bite is filled with irresistible umami.  

When cooking with fresh ingredients, keep the preparation as simple as possible. Let the natural texture and taste of the goods take the lead. Then enhance your meal that little bit further with our Shoyu. 

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Some of our top tips for eating fresh food include:

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1. Foraging: believe it or not, not all food needs to come to us via the store. The great outdoors has a lot to offer. All you need to do is know what to look for and where. Here, in Willamette Valley, Oregon, truffle foraging is extremely popular. In many places, you can book in with a local tour guide, like Prestige Wine Tours for a fully immersive foraging experience. 
2. Seasonal: knowing what is in-season when means you can select the freshest and most flavorsome ingredients at different times of the year. A seasonal food guide, like this one, can help you. For example, in Oregon in early January, we know to look for beets, chard and     kale but in late June it’s time for asparagus, basil and bok choy. 
3. Local Suppliers: getting to know small local suppliers of fruit, vegetables and meat in your town is a great place to start when cooking fresh. These suppliers have the inside track and have cherry-picked their favorite produce to sell - with a lot more research than the everyday consumer. You’ll enjoy chatting with them about where your food is coming from to reassure and inform you of its provenance - all the while supporting small, often family-run businesses. Win-win.
4. Experiment: by trying new things and experimenting with ingredients, you can really get the most out of fresh food. Using the seasonal calendar as a guide can help you to explore different recipes outside of your usual. Stuck for culinary inspiration? Try our recipes, full of delicious dishes for you to make at home for the family.