The backstory behind this whale-shaped knife is pretty delightful. Tetsu Yamashita, a master sickle maker, was asked to create a blunt-end blade for children to safely sharpen pencils. He came up with this knife with a rounded end that looks like a sperm whale – a playful and ingenious design solution! Handmade in KÅchi Prefecture by […]
Author Archives: Umami Mart Staff
December 1, 2016
Go-To Guide: The Complete Cocktail Manual
Our friend Lou Bustamante recently released this great cocktail book that we’re excited to carry in our shop. Lou is a spirits professional who’s worked in almost every aspect of the industry – bartending, working in a distillery, developing recipes and products, teaching cocktail classes, and more. He’s also a published writer – covering the spirits and cocktails world for publications […]
November 25, 2016
Seasonal Inspiration: The Umami Mart Holiday Gift Guide
Hooray, you survived Thanksgiving! Now, it’s time for the rest of the holidays and all the shopping that comes with the season of giving. This year, we’ve put together the Umami Mart Holiday Gift Guide that we hope will inspire you to find the perfect presents for everyone on your list. And if you start […]
Now You Can Japanify All Day!
If you’re a regular reader of the Umami Mart blog, you’re probably familiar with Japanify, a monthly column written by Yoko featuring Japanese recipes. Upon moving back to the Bay Area after five years of living in Tokyo, Yoko started Japanify as a way of documenting her vibrant food memories from Japan, and reproducing these dishes using locally-found ingredients that […]
November 23, 2016
The More, the Merrier: Studio Arhoj Holiday Cards!
It’s time to start mailing out holiday cards to friends and family! Send cheery season’s greetings with these sweet Studio Arhoj Holiday Cards depicting playful and cozy winter scenes. A pack comes up with 8 cards and envelopes, each featuring a different design. And if you’re looking for more Studio Arhoj products to add to your personal holiday […]
November 22, 2016
All Bottled Up: A Dash of Bitters Is All It Takes
A few drops of bitters can make a cocktail sing! Just be careful not to add too much, or else your drink will warble off-key. That’s why we love a good bitters bottle, made with weighty, high-quality glass and a special dasher top to ensure just the right amount of bitters will make it into […]
November 18, 2016
Do Nabe in a Donabe
If you’re stumped about what to make for your next dinner party, we have a suggestion for you: Do nabe in a donabe! Donabe is a Japanese clay cooking pot used to prepare one-pot meals called nabemono (think sukiyaki, oden, and yosenabe). Made to be placed directly over a flame or in the oven, donabe are also meant for serving meals right out of the pot. […]
November 17, 2016
You’ll Be Thankful to Have These Kitchen Tools on Thanksgiving
Can you believe that next Thursday is Thanksgiving?! If you’re feeling like us, Thanksgiving snuck up on us yet again. But this year, we have some kitchen accessories and tools that will make T-Day prep easy as (pumpkin) pie. Breaking the cork in a bottle of wine is such a bummer! But you’ll never have to worry about pieces […]
November 3, 2016
Let Us ENTERtain You with ENTER.Sake Gold
All that glitters is not gold, but in the case of ENTER.Sake Gold Aramasa, this sake is just about as valuable and rare as finding a gold nugget. Aramasa Brewery’s Kimoto Junmai Daiginjo Genshu was released for the U.S. market by ENTER.Sake, a boutique sake collection curated by musician and sake enthusiast Richie Hawtin. Only five cases […]