Let us introduce you to our special soup stock!

Image of soup stock

What kind of image comes to your mind when you hear "making dashi stock"? Many people may have the impression that "I don't have dried bonito flakes or kelp on hand," "it takes time," or "it's a hassle."
I think fewer people are making their own dashi now that there are so many different types of granulated dashi on the market.

Dashi, a stock often used in Japanese cuisine, begins by boiling bonito flakes and kelp, and there are various ways to cut ingredients to bring out the umami flavor, making it difficult to adapt to the fast pace of modern lifestyles.
However, there is a reason why dashi is recommended for baby food. This time, we will explain the necessity of dashi.

Why Hiyori's Japanese Food is so particular about its dashi stock

The seasoning of baby food has a big impact on the formation of taste, and it is said to create a lifelong taste. Taste is rapidly formed by the age of 3, and the base is mostly established by the age of 10.

This is an important period for babies to get to know various tastes through weaning food, and to use all five senses, including taste, texture, temperature, appearance, and smell, to appreciate food and learn about its deliciousness. If babies get used to strong flavors (too much seasoning) during this period, their sense of taste will not be properly formed, and they will no longer appreciate the natural flavors of ingredients. Also, consuming too much salt and sugar increases the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases.

The key to developing children's sense of taste is to use light flavors, which is the basis of taste formation! Use the umami flavor contained in soup stock well to increase sensitivity to the original flavors of ingredients and develop children's sense of taste.

People instinctively feel that umami is delicious! By making good dashi stock, you can bring out the flavor of the ingredients and make the most of the natural sweetness of the ingredients. For this reason, it is important to cook dishes that make use of dashi stock, rather than using seasonings.

Introducing carefully selected ingredients

Kombu [Season] From 5 months old

We use Hidaka kelp harvested in the Hidaka region of Hokkaido. It is soft, easy to cook, and has a great flavor.

Bonito [Season] From 7 months old

We use thick bonito flakes from Chikiri Shimizu Shoten. Chikiri Shimizu Shoten was founded in 1782 in Yaizu, a city overlooking Suruga Bay. The company pursues the taste and quality of dried bonito flakes while preserving traditional methods.
Using these carefully selected bonito flakes, Hiyori's Japanese rice "katsuo dashi" is a fragrant, refreshing and refined dashi.

Dried sardines [Season] From 9 months old

We use dried sardines from Mizunaga Suisan, which was founded in 1949 in Kadogawa Town in northern Miyazaki Prefecture.
Kadogawa Town is blessed with an abundance of seafood and has two fishing ports, and the high-quality iriko caught there is low in fat and has a beautiful appearance. It is characterized by the refined dashi stock it produces.

Shiitake mushrooms [season] From 7 months old

We use dried shiitake mushrooms from Okada Shoten, which was founded in 1912 and is located in Misato town in northern Miyazaki Prefecture.
We have been involved with dried shiitake mushrooms for over 100 years, and we receive dried shiitake mushrooms that are grown on logs one by one by hand. The flavor and aroma of dried shiitake mushrooms vary greatly depending on how they are soaked. Dried shiitake mushrooms contain "enzymes that create flavor" and "enzymes that kill flavor," and these "enzymes that kill flavor" are most active in the room temperature zone. For this reason, we soak them in cold water to cover them, and then slowly soak them in the refrigerator overnight.

lastly

In this article, we introduced why dashi is necessary for baby food and the carefully selected ingredients that are used. Please make good use of the umami contained in dashi through baby food, increase sensitivity to the original taste of ingredients, and develop your child's sense of taste.

Editor: Sachiko Suzuki (Hiyori's Japanese Food Nutritionist) Baby food is a baby's first meal. We aim to provide a well-balanced menu using safe ingredients.