Overall, Japan uses about 6.1 million metric tons of
wheat each year, with nearly 90 percent of the grain
used for food and the rest going to feed livestock. Annual
wheat consumption averages about 70 pounds per person
(Fukuda, Dyck, and Stout 2).
The two primary ways that Japanese use wheat are in
noodles and breads. The Japanese eat many kinds of
noodles: some
cold, some hot, some in soups, some not, some in fine
restaurants, some in cups from vending machines. Regional
variations are many, though it’s simplistic to
say that one kind or another is limited to a certain
part of the country.
Among the popular varieties are somen, a fine wheat
noodle made by master craftsmen which is often served
cold with
a dipping sauce; ramen, a chewier Chinese noodle served
in broth that has given the popular instant noodles
their name; udon, made by rolling wheat dough flat
and cutting
it with a knife; and soba, a noodle that ’s made
from buckwheat, which is actually not a grain but a
seed, like a sunflower.
The general public belief is that soba noodles are
more popular in Tokyo and eastern Japan (due to the
mountainous, buckwheat-producing prefectures next to
the Kanto plain and Tokyo), and udon are the favorite in western Japan, including
the Kansai region to the west of Tokyo that contains Osaka and Kobe–in
the Kansai, mild climates and fertile soil allow for a winter wheat crop after
rice fields are drained and harvested. But, in reality, udon noodles are favored
in some parts of eastern Japan, and soba are a local specialty in some places
in the west. (Ishige 248).
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| Fast food yakisoba noodles in Japan. Photo by
N. Larzalere. |
A number of factors influence local tastes. "Consumers in Tokyo tend to
prefer […] pork, buckwheat ‘soba’ noodles, and a greater cuisine
variety. While in Osaka (Kansai region), consumers […] prefer beef and
wheat ‘udon’ noodles" (Canada Agri-Food Trade Service).
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In addition to noodles, Japanese consumers also
enjoy wheat breads. Ever since the Dutch and Portuguese
established
communities in Japan centuries ago, bread has been
produced in Japan. At first it was seen as a between-meals
snack,
but it became popular as a breakfast food in the 20th
century, particularly after the postwar occupation
when Americans encouraged bread consumption. By the
early
1990s, 30 percent of Japan’s adults ate bread for
breakfast. To a great
extent, when bread is eaten, it’s in the company of other western foods,
such as hams and eggs, cheese, butter and jam, coffee, fruit juice or milk
(Ishige 57, 161-162, 169).
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| Bakery in Japan. Photo by N. Larzalere. |
The classes of wheat used by the Japanese milling industry
are domestic soft wheat, U.S. soft wheat, U.S. semi-hard
wheat, U.S. hard wheat, Canadian hard
wheat, and Australian soft wheat.
"Wheat flour processed from Canadian hard and U.S. hard wheat is mainly
used for bread, while wheat flour processed from U.S. semi-hard wheat is mainly
used for Chinese-style noodles. Wheat flour processed from Australian and Japanese
soft wheat is used to produce crackers and Japanese-style noodles. Wheat flour
processed
from U.S. soft wheat goes mainly to produce cake and cookies" (Mao, Koo,
Suomala, and Sakurai 7).
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| Baked wheat rolls served with western-style
meal in Japan. Photo by N. Larzalere. |
Next: Japanese Wheat Production and Trade |
