Clearspring: Bringing Japanese Food Home

Japan is the land of the rising sun, of rice fields and chopsticks. As exotic as it gets, only in recent years has sushi travelled across the Pacific onto British shores, and into local London eateries across the city.

That’s what most of us think of first when it comes to Japanese cuisine, anyway.

Japanese food is can be tricky to cook, not least because it requires an array of specialist ingredients. For anyone interested in cooking this type of food at home, Clearspring are here to help by providing a quality range of affordable products, to help you reproduce some delicious Eastern dishes.

The Mini Cooking Club attended the Clearspring 20th anniversary event at Icetank, Soho. There were geisha makeovers, kimono loans and lots of free Clearspring food and drinks. The highlights were seaweed cocktails and tempura broccoli. There was also a formal Japanese tea ceremony at the venue, during which attendees could witness the traditional, elaborate way of consuming this ancient beverage.

All of their products are organic, GM free, vegetarian and ethically produced. Clearspring has a long history of working closely with its suppliers and developing strong relationships across the industry, that support sustainable organic farming and benefit local communities. They want people to enjoy the same quality and taste of food that our grandparents enjoyed, and their goal is to "get organic food back on the dining table."

Clearspring artisans have also developed lots of unique recipes for you to try, including make your own sushi and summer fruit jelly.

You can buy their products directly from Clearspring online, or you can visit one of their many stockists in person.They also sell many other organic goods which are not Japanese, but equally as healthy and delicious. Follow them on Facebook for recipes, giveaways and updates.

There’s something about the formality and politeness of Japanese culture that remains alluring even in the global society of today. The neatly packaged parcels of food and careful rituals create a mystique around an otherwise every day experience.

By Catherine Heath