About

“Kitsune” is the Japanese word for “fox”

In Japanese recipes, the words “kitsune iro (meaning fox color)”, are often used as baking or toasting to a golden brown color. I made up the word “kitsune golden” from the Japanese word “kitsune iro” and the English word “golden brown”. Kitsune golden brown is the yummiest and appetizing color for me all the time.

When I was 19 years old, the executive pastry chef often said to me “ Yakiga Amai!! (meaning it’s baked but too pale! )’ after he saw me taking out financiers or puff pastry from the oven. As a first-year pastry chef, I didn’t know how dark “kitsune iro” I should bake. Throughout my pastry chef career, I’ve learned how important timing is in terms of cooking, especially for baked products.

The flour ingredients can improve their taste when it’s baked to the perfect “kitsune iro”. The taste will be more aromatic, nutty, and also increase more umami. This taste improvement applies not only to the flour products, but also to vegetables like onions, or nuts, sugar, butter, and fried food too. There are some specific recipes that this does not apply to but many of the recipes are. When you bake or fry something next time, please pay attention more to the baked color of your food. I guarantee that it will bring your food will be at the next level.

Hi, I’m Norie…

Born and raised in a tea farmer family in Shizuoka, Japan. I always loved to cook since I was a kid. After graduating from TSUJI Culinary Institute in Tokyo, I started my career as a pastry chef. Moving to New York in 2004, I worked at many restaurants in NYC. I also taught cooking classes while I was a head pastry chef at Cha-An Teahouse in New York. Now I am trying to sharing my recipes through my blog. Restaurant foods are amazing but I believe homemade foods cannot be beaten because it contains special ingredients called “LOVE”. I hope that sharing my recipe will help as many people around the world as possible to eat delicious food full of love every day.