Until very recently Japanese food was viewed with guarded suspicion. But due to the upsurge in popularity for Japanese cuisine, ingredients have become readily available on supermarket shelves and in specialist local shops and, now, people want to be able to cook this exquisite cuisine at home. Kimiko Barber presents 100 essential ingredients, from the more familiar, such as soba (noodles) to the more unusual umeboshi (pickled plum). Every ingredient has its own entry that covers history, appearance, taste, buying, storing, culinary use and health benefits. Completing each section are over 200 authentic recipes. Through informative prose and beautiful photography "The Japanese Kitchen" tells the full story behind Japanese cuisine and makes it inviting and accessible to all.