A Japanese 10-year-old has become the youngest person authorized to prepare “fugu” pufferfish — a delicacy that can kill if its poisonous parts are not properly removed.
Fifth grader Karin Tabira passed a test this summer that means she is now certified to slice and gut the fish for consumption.
She recently used her new skills to serve a platter of paper-thin slices of fugu sashimi to the governor of southern Kumamoto region where she lives.
Belgian beers in general can be so lovely. Of the three big brewing traditions, the Belgians seem to have the most variations. The Germans with their lagers and hefes, and the Brits with their various ales are both very strict with regard to rules for ingredients and methods. The Belgians, however, went crazy with their ingredients and adjuncts and methods. They are also the culture whose monasteries make some of the best beers in the world, the Trappist ales. Those are pretty tightly regulated, but so are any other culturally significant historical products like Parmigano Reggiano…
One of the best beers I’ve ever had, bar none, was a saison I brewed myself from an extract kit I got from Northern Brewer. It was amazing. It was unlike any beer I’d ever had before. It was malty, slightly hoppy, and I used some coriander seed during the boil. Absolutely lovely.