The Building Blocks of Japanese Cuisine
1 item forgotten in that list: fresh, tasty ingredients.<p>Japanese produce and meats are just fussed over to such a degree for which an American consumer has no frame of reference.<p>The fruit and veg tend to be larger, less bruised &#x2F; browned, and overall of better taste. As ingredients this makes for better food. Perhaps less commercialized farming? IDK.<p>They do spend a larger portion of their household income on groceries, so this is part of the answer.<p>Edit: By &quot;larger&quot; I don&#x27;t mean serving size, I mean natural size of the fruit and veg. I lived in Japan for 15+ years. The produce there compared to the produce in my US Trader Joe&#x27;s, was larger. And tastier. I don&#x27;t know how they did it, because I too would have assumed that larger meant less tasty. Coming back to the US and seeing scrawny fruit was a shock. I wonder if the US producers are sending their largest &#x2F; best overseas? Or perhaps TJ&#x27;s and Fred Meyer is buying B class produce?