TEST KITCHEN
Kyoto Research Institute’s Test Kitchen is a dedicated food laboratory to explore the heritage materials of Japan’s cookery culture. We explore how these materials can continue to nourish daily life in today’s kitchens, no matter where we call home.
At the center of this work are heritage materials. Traditional ingredients and techniques cultivated and refined over centuries that embody not only taste but also community and craft. They are living knowledge.
Our Test Kitchen is not about preservation. It is about fermentation. How heritage materials of cookery evolve with the times. Our activities include kitchen-based experimentation, documentation of traditional techniques, and educational curriculum.
OFFICE HOURS
We welcome professionals, semi-professionals, and industry-adjacent professionals who can leverage the knowledge we have cultivated at our Test Kitchen to transform heritage materials into new culinary and social possibilities. Office Hours is an opportunity to experience our current research and experimentation of the heritage materials of cookery.
SOME OF OUR RESEARCH
Koji, the national mold of Japan, has long been considered the foundation of Japanese flavor. It enables the making of miso, soy sauce, mirin, vinegars, and saké. Research begins with the biology of koji, its fermentation process, and the community culture around it. We then move on to experimentation. What new forms of fermented staples might be developed with koji today? How might its enzymatic powers be adapted for plant-based cooking, or for kitchens far from Japan?
Our Test Kitchen also investigates the regional spectrum of tofu, an ingredient that appears deceptively simple yet encompasses a vast range of forms and traditions that mimic its unique terroir. Silky kinugoshi, freeze-dried koyadofu, and tofus made not with soy beans, but with peanuts and sesame seeds to name a few. Each type developed as a response to local needs and tastes. Technical knowledge and cultural context, inspires modern, sustainable proteins rooted in traditional practice.
Our study of seaweeds which include kombu, wakamé, nori, hijiki, mozuku, tengusa, are just a few that have historically been used for consumption. As an island country they are central to our nutritional foundation. They also embody ecological interdependence, linking human diets to oceanic health. Our Test Kitchen examines their properties, regional harvesting practices, and culinary applications, while exploring how seaweed can support broader global food cultures.
