The Thing I Learned Today MAY-JUN 2022
Why yes, that mold IS a National Living Treasure: Everything you ever wanted to know about making sake

Japanese sake is surging in popularity as restaurants outside of Japan discover that it makes dishes from all over the world taste even better. My friend Mac—the Kanpai Planet YouTube channel host who delves into All Things Alcoholic in Japan—actually went to Sado Island (which is famous for their brews) and spent a week making sake with the masters. And he made these videos so we can come along too!

If you’d like to wow your next dinner guests with primo sake trivia or understand just what an insane amount of labor and science goes into making Japan’s native tipple, this is the hands-on guide for you.
DAY 1: Rice cookers so huge, they use garden shovels instead of rice paddles to shift it
The strangest thing I learned: why sake makers are banned from eating nattō (those stinky, slimy, fermented soy beans that separate the men from the boys when it comes to foreigners going native)…

(This is a good one to suggest your guests watch before you do a sake tasting, if they want to understand the basics of how it’s made)
If you enjoyed Mac’s ever-so-knowlegeable—but irreverent—deep dive videos, subscribe to his Kanpai Planet YouTube channel and learn everything you ever wanted to know about Japanese sake, whiskey and craft beers!
My idea of a perfect Mother’s Day…

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The Last Tea Bowl Thief was chosen as an Editor’s Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense on Amazon
“A fascinating mix of history and mystery.” —Booklist
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had