From 25-29 September a Summer School on Asian Food: History, Anthropology, Sociology will take place in Leiden. It is co-organized by the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), the LeidenAsiaCentre (LAC), and the Shared Taste Project at Leiden University. As a part of this Summer School, a public lecture and tasting will be held on 27 September.

Soyfoods are the key components of East Asian diets. Historically, Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisines relied heavily on tofu as a major source of protein and on fermented soyfoods as main flavouring agents. Soy sauce in particular has become emblematic for the East Asian taste.

This event will focus entirely on soy. It will consists of two components: 1) a lecture on the place of soy sauce in East Asia, with particular reference to the industrialization of soy sauce manufacture and how it affected its taste; 2) tasting of artisanal soy sauce, manufactured using traditional techniques.

The lecture will be given by Prof. Katarzyna Cwiertka, professor of Modern Japan Studies at Leiden University, an established expert on food history of modern Japan and Korea, and one of the convenors of the Asian Food Summer School 2017. The lecture will be followed by a soy sauce tasting, provided by Alexander Bakker from ‘Flair for Flavor’ which imports natural, artisanal products, like soy sauces, miso and organic dressings, from Japan.

The event will be in the Leiden University Library, Vossius room [2nd floor), Witte Singel 27 Leiden, starting at 17:00. To sign up, please use the form on the IIAS website.