To know the popularization of Japanese foods at American's home, a survey was performed in 1993 at eleven supermarkets selling Japanese foods in four cities, Ithaca, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo of NY State, USA.
A quetionarire survey was perfomed on 128 American who live in Ithaca and the suburbs thereof.
The quetionarires are the impression of Japanese foods, how to cook those foods and the experience of intaking.
The 128 Americans are 37 males and 91 females of whom being 87 caucasian (67.9%) and 28 ethnic origins (20.3%), aged from 20 to 59 and 31.4 in average.
The most Japanese foods selling at those supermarkets are instant Ramen (IR), Syo-yu (soybean sauce), Tofu (soybean cake), rice (medium grain rice) and imitation crab fish (IC).
The production and consumption of those foods have begun increasing in 1970 in USA.
The result of the quetionaires is that 80% of the respondents have intaken Syoyu, Tofu, rice and IR, and 52.1% have intaken IC. Middleaged people are more fond of those foods than younger people.
They have used Syoyu, as a variety of sauce salad dressing and sauce for stir fry and used Tofu as material of stir fry, salad, soup, sandwich and cakes. It is interesting that they cook or prepare tofu as different dishes from the Japanese. IC is used in salad as sea foods.
The main impressions on Japanese foods are “healthy”, “beautiful”, “tasty” and “expensive” .Japanese foods seem to enjoy a good impression in general.
From the survey it is suggested that the effect of the popularization of macrobiotic among caucasian people and popularizing activity of Japanese American religion groups should be added to the reasons for the populerization of Japanese foods at American's home.
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