BURDOCK has been cultivated by farmers in Japan for centuries;it's long,slender,dark-brown root is a perennial favorite amongst Japanese,for whom it is a staple winter vegetable.The traditional way of preserving burdock is SASAGAKI BURDOCK: the root is shaved into fine slivers,then left to dry in the sun during the clear,cold days of winter.

The town of Akizuki is blessed with an abundance of pure water and a cold and dry winter, ideal for processing kuzu, a choice starch derived from the roots of one of Japan's most tenacious and vigorous wild plants. Here, for 5 generations, the Hirohachido family has been making some of the finest kuzu in all Japan.

The kuzu plant, called kudzu in the Southern United States, has one of the world’s largest roots, averaging more than 200 pounds each. For more than 1,000 years the starch from the kuzu plant has been used in Oriental medicine for its soothing effects, especially for any digestive disorders. Use it as a natural, non-chemically extracted alternative thickener for soups, stews, gravies, sauces and puddings, glazes for vegetables and fruits or thickeners of pies instead of corn starch.

Developed centuries ago in Japan, fu is a valuable protein source. Hard whole wheat flour is combined with water to form a dough, then kneaded and washed continuously to remove bran and starch. The remaining dough is pure gluten, the protein factor in wheat. The gluten is kneaded again with whole wheat flour, producing a marbled appearance, then either wrapped around bars in a wheel-like shape called Zenryu Fu, or stretched in thin layers to make Shonai Fu. It is then lightly toasted over an open flame to brown the outside and steamed to make it puff up or become fluffy. After this process it is dried and packaged.

Sweet brown rice is cooked, pounded, formed into cakes and dried. When pan-fried, it puffs up much like a marshmallow; when grated, it melts like cheese. Along with brown rice mochi, we have mugwort mochi (made from sweet rice and the wild, edible plant mugwort) and millet mochi (made from sweet rice and millet). All have distinctly different and delicious flavors.

Sweet brown rice is cooked, pounded, formed into cakes and dried. When pan-fried, it puffs up much like a marshmallow; when grated, it melts like cheese. Along with brown rice mochi, we have mugwort mochi (made from sweet rice and the wild, edible plant mugwort) and millet mochi (made from sweet rice and millet). All have distinctly different and delicious flavors.

Sweet brown rice is cooked, pounded, formed into cakes and dried. When pan-fried, it puffs up much like a marshmallow; when grated, it melts like cheese. Along with brown rice mochi, we have mugwort mochi (made from sweet rice and the wild, edible plant mugwort) and millet mochi (made from sweet rice and sweet kibbi millet). All have distinctly different and delicious flavors.

Have you ever found burrs on your pant legs or the dog’s fur after walking through a field? Those are seed pods of the burdock (cocklebur) plant. Its edible root has long been valued by Native Americans and Asians for its vitality-producing effects. Burdock also has anti-oxidant properties that help rid the body of free radicals. Just soak and use like fresh burdock, though dried may require slightly more cooking time than fresh.