日報

When I was in junior high school and just starting to learn English, there was a store where I wondered what its concept was.

The name of the store was "Freshness Burger." A burger shop that's *not* fresh? It must be crazy to do business with a concept like "it's not fresh." I thought there must be some meaning to it, so I mustered up the courage to go into that burger shop, which was a bit expensive. It was a very delicious burger shop. If anything, the lettuce was fresh!

I thought, "They're serving fresh things, but calling it not fresh. Is it twisted, or is there some secret to English that I don't know? English is hard."

It was several years later that I realized I had mistaken it for "Fresh*less* Burger."

Here's another story about my poor English skills.

When I was commuting to school by bus, a "non-step bus" suddenly appeared in front of me. "Huh," I thought. "Is it like an 'express rapid' on a train? That means it'll probably go straight to the last stop at XX Station without stopping, and it won't stop at the intermediate station where I want to get off, so I shouldn't get on this one."

It was after I'd passed up several of them and started thinking how strange it was that I realized I had mistaken it for a "non-stop bus." In the first place, if it were a non-stop bus, why didn't I realize it was odd that it stopped at the station I was waiting at? I was such an idiot.

It was a problem even before English ability.

I looked at the date, and it was October 10th. Wasn't today Sports Day? And wasn't it a national holiday? I wondered.

Upon checking, I found that "Sports Day" changed its name to "Health and Sports Day" in 2020. Ah, that's right. I remember something like that happening. Has it really been five years already? Time flies, doesn't it? I got a little sentimental about how quickly time passes.

And I also learned that Sports Day, which used to be on October 10th, moved to the second Monday of October in 2000 with the introduction of the Happy Monday system.

Oh, that's right! I looked at the calendar, and next Monday is a holiday, so that must be Health and Sports Day.

2000, huh? That was quick. Wait, 2000? 25 years ago!? What do you mean, a quarter of a century ago?

I've only ever seen the term "quarter century" in history class. In 25 years, you could skip from the Meiji era past the Taisho era and directly into the Showa era!

...I got a little over-excited about how quickly time flies. Even though October 10th stopped being a holiday 25 years ago, it still feels like a holiday. The speed of time is like an express train.

When cooking, there are some seasonings I use frequently. Salt, pepper, sake, vinegar, oil, mirin, soy sauce... I know what they taste like—this is salty, this is sour—but when I think about *why* something tastes salty, or *why* I use certain seasonings in cooking, or *what effects* they have, I realize I don't really know.

I've always felt that if I deepened my knowledge, I could cook more deliciously, but I wasn't sure where to start. Then I stumbled upon chef Naoya Higuchi's YouTube channel, and I was so impressed by how easy it was to understand.

His explanations are concise, and he even tells you how to use the ingredients, so I find myself watching various videos because they're so helpful.

For example, the "Cooking Oil" episode starts with an explanation of *abura* (oil) and *abura* (fat), but until he said it, I didn't even realize there were two different ways to express "oil/fat."

From the explanation about how the appropriate use of edible fats changes depending on their fatty acid content ratio, things start to get a bit more complex. It's fun, but it gets harder to retain the information. Still, I feel like I've learned something important, like the balance of oleic acid and linoleic acid, which makes me feel like my cooking will improve, and that's enjoyable.

I probably forget about 80% of it the moment I finish watching, but I'm sure I'll remember it if I watch it a few more times.

I highly recommend his other seasoning episodes as well; they're equally logical, well-organized, and very enjoyable.

Yesterday, I went to a general store I’d been meaning to visit to look for a good steamer. I spotted the store in the distance, and as I got closer, I felt something was off. The store was dark, no, too dark. Ah, it was their regular day off. It’s Monday, after all… I should have known. Why didn’t I check before I left?

The address included a building name, so I assumed it was a multi-tenant building, which meant I thought it wouldn’t have a regular closing day. That’s my excuse. I pressed my face against the glass like a boy looking at a trumpet, peered into the dark store at the steamer in the back, and then went home.

Today, I thought I could finally go to a confectionery shop opened by an acquaintance that I’d been meaning to visit. So I decided to go out for lunch.

I thought, "I won’t make the same mistake as yesterday," and about halfway there, I searched online and... Yep, it was their regular day off.

Ugh. Why can’t I check before I leave?! It’s Tuesday. Food-related businesses often have Tuesdays off.

I had lunch, visited a shrine, and went home. From now on, I vow to check if a place is open before I leave.

The most popular item in the kikkake online store is the original oil bottle.

Rather than just an oil bottle, oil is used so frequently during cooking that we always want to keep it on the counter. We also want to be able to use it quickly with one hand, so we want to avoid caps that require two hands to open and close. Oil drips can be a sad sight, so we want a tip that drips as little as possible. After much thought and consideration, we arrived at the current design.

Initially, we only had bottles for three types of oil: olive oil, light sesame oil, and dark sesame oil. However, as we started using more varieties like rice oil and scallion oil, the number of bottles gradually increased.

Considering the different frequencies of use, we thought it might be good to have several bottle heights. We are currently prototyping and considering various options, such as slightly shorter ones or half-sized ones.

Once we are confident in the new designs, we plan to sell bottles in different sizes. If you have any requests regarding the shape or size of the oil bottles, please feel free to email us. We would be happy to take your feedback into consideration.

　

It often happens that a dish I made on a whim turns out to be incredibly delicious.

Then, when I try to recreate it based on that memory, it often feels like the previous one was better.

In my experience, there's quite a difference in the quality of the food between the first and second times, and I believe the second time should be more delicious. The first time is always a first, so you stumble in various places and make it through trial and error, leading to many failures and points for reflection. In that respect, the second time is made with those lessons in mind, so the second time is bound to be more delicious.

However, when it comes to those times I was truly moved by the first attempt, I feel like the second attempt rarely surpasses it.

It might be a little different, but it's like when you come home tired and happen to watch a movie on TV, and it resonates with your current situation, making you cry with emotion. I think something like that, a confluence of coincidences that really struck me, happened with the first meal.

Similarly, I feel that a strong sense of emotion often arises when "something discovered by chance" like a meal eaten at a restaurant you stumbled upon while out, or a seasoning bought at a souvenir shop you randomly entered while traveling, combines with "your current circumstances."

"Discovered by chance" seems to be quite important. I want to make a dish the second time that surpasses the first!