昨日に引き続き、わたしがよく使う七味のご紹介を。さて、ガツンといきたい時、わたしは長野は善光寺、八幡屋礒五郎の「BIRD EYE」を使います。
こちらの通常の七味が有名ですが、辛いもの好きなご近所さんが持っていたことから知り、わたしも取り寄せるようになりました。別のご近所さんの話では、我が家に近いところで言えば浅草のまるごとにっぽんという、各地方の名産品を扱っている商業施設でも売っているとのこと。
この七味は通常の三倍の辛さというだけあり、かなり刺激があります。夫は嫌がりかけませんが（笑）、わたしはほぼ毎日何かしらにかけています。
今回このブログを書くにあたり、八幡屋礒五郎さんのホームページを拝見しました。以前は原料を県外産、輸入品に頼っていたのですが、原点に帰り、地元産にこだわるようにしたとあります。いいですね。今の時代、どこにいても同じ企業の製品が手に入りやすい世の中だからこそ、特色が求められると思います。このお店にしかない味、ここでしか食べられない味、ここでしか経験できないこと。人は結局、そういう要素を求めるのではないでしょうか。
Continued from yesterday, I am introducing another kind of shichimi, Japanese Seven Spice, I use often. When I go for extra spicy, I use the product called Bird Eye, produced by Yawataya Isogoro in Zenkoji, Nagano.
They are well known for their regular shichimi. How I knew about Bird Eye was my neighbor, who loves spicy. He let me try it, and I loved it! Now I buy them online too. Another neighbor told me she saw them at Marugoto Nippon, commercial building in Asakusa carrying different kinds of products and produce from all over Japan and it's close to where I live. I may try to go there.
This shichimi is three times spicier than their regular shichimi, so very stimulating. My husband isn't a fan so doesn't use them but I love to use them almost everyday for something.
I checked their website because I had decided to write about the product. It says they used to rely on ingredients from different regions or countries but they wanted to go back to where they are from, decided to use the stuff from their own area. I think it's a great idea. In this age, you can purchase products from same sorts of companies no matter where you live in the world, but because of that, uniqueness is strong. If you have something that can be served only by you, or offer an experience that can be offered by you, then people want that after all. That's what I think.
