JP 2700 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Glutinous Rice, Miso Soup, Kaiseki
Document Summary
[note: * = important to remember for the upcoming quiz] Rice provides the highest yield per unit area of all crops in southeast asia. Rice grows well in high temperatures of the summer and the high-precipitation of mansoons. Soil erosion is not a problem, and the same field can be used every year. Rice can be cooked and consumed without any processing other than threshing and milling, unlike wheat and corn which are first ground and then made into bread, etc. Although wheat has slightly higher protein, rice provides a higher protein value and is rich in amino acids. Since rice paddy soil is covered with water, fertilizers are not required as nutrients int he irrigation water. In japan rice harvests begin in fall, and rice is planted during the rainy season. *onigiri = warm rice pressed together by hands. In the spring, japanese people pray to the rice god for a good rice harvest.
