Then, Mr. Masui lightly roasted the Avgotaraho over charcoal fire and presented it.

“It becomes a dish, simply by lightly roasting it like this. The slightly crispy outer part and the soft yet chewy texture in the inner part. This is how to savor the texture of Avgotaraho.”

Next, he selected Kritamo, sometimes called sea fennel and commented that it looked like a Japanese Junsai, or wild weed. Then he curiously tasted it after being told that it was a plant found by the seashore.

“It has a similar flavor to thyme. Simply chopped up and tossed with grated Daikon radish or cucumber, it becomes a Japanese dish. Soy sauce with grated radish or ponzu sauce with grated cucumber – served together with a dish with a heavy flavor or served in between dishes as a refreshment will help reset the palette.”

Even familiar ingredients such as olive oil and honey will become interesting to the Japanese market when a story of its origin is told

Selecting another jar, he said “This marinade with anchovy may also be served as a Japanese dish. There seem to be a lot of ingredients with high acidity in Greece as there are in Japan.”

When he saw the Loukoumia (a jelly sweet) flavored by mastica, he began to thinly slice one. {Editor’s note: mastica is a tree that grows on the Greek island of Chios. There, and only there, it produces a gum resin once used as the first chewing gum and now used as a flavoring and health aid}.

“This is a bit peculiar, but it may be compatible with the strong flavor of Maccha – powdered green tea. Semi-transparent quality looks cool and beautiful, and may be suitable to serve at the end of a tea ceremony.” Next he tried a sweet dessert wine called Samos. “It is too sweet to be served with Japanese food, but it can be an aperitif replacement for plum wine. Tahini with honey was a hit. “We can use it for Japanese cooking in boiled spinach salad and so on. Its taste is so mild and the sesame fragrance is so great.” After tasting all that was on offe, he marveled all that were applicable to Japanese cooking.

Next I spoke with Mr. Takeuchi, a food specialist in the wholesale import/export food industry. Mr. Takeuchi is mainly focused on Italian food imports, but he also brings in foods from Spain, France, other Mediterranean countries, South America, and Asian countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. Included in the conversation was Ms. Kayo Yoshida, a well-regarded food journalist. Said Mr. Takeuchi:
“Among the imported foods, there are low-priced goods, high-priced goods targeted for the wealthy, and goods for midyear gift exchange (once in the summer and once in winter), but I believe there is one additional market. For instance, is there more than one type of shampoo at your home? Do you have one shampoo for the father, for the mother, and for the daughter and the son?”

He suggests that in those homes, it is common to have more than one type of olive oil – economical oil for general cooking, and another, higher-quality oil for salad dressing.