Rare Artisanal Products to Discover
at the 2006 Japanese Food & Restaurant Show

New York, NY, September 12, 2006--Purple sweet potato vinegar, cherry wood smoked sea salt, and soy sauce fermented in 100-year-old cider barrels. These are just a few of the premium products to be discovered at the 2006 Japanese Food & Restaurant Show.

The event, produced by New York Mutual Trading, Inc., will take place October 21, 2006 from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W 18th St., New York. It is open to retailers, restauranteurs, foodservice professionals, and members of the media. Admission is free. For more information and to register, visit www.nymtc.com or call 201-933-9555.

Inside the Japanese Food and Restaurant Show
40,000 square feet of booths will feature sake tastings, knife sharpening demonstrations and authentic Japanese foods and ingredients, tableware and equipment. Japanese cuisine authority and cookbook author Hiroko Shimbo heads up the demonstration kitchen. She will be joined by award-winning pastry chef Bill Yosses of Paul Newman’s restaurant The Dressing Room where they, along with more of New York’s favorite chefs, will present ideas for using Japanese ingredients in innovative preparations.

Premium Products
New York Mutual Trading Co. will be introducing its line of Premium products for 2006, available for the first time ever in the United States.

• Iburi-Jio smoked sea salt is harvested from the deep waters off the shore of Oga Peninsula and smoked over pure cherry wood.

• Benimosu is a stunning strawberry-colored vinegar made from purple sweet potatoes. It comes in two styles: the regular vinegar is excellent for savory applications and the honey-sweetened vinegar is a wonderful addition to cocktail and dessert recipes.

• Akazake Mirin rice wine has a unique sweet flavor with a slight chocolate note.
Japanese chefs love it as a high quality, affordable substitute for traditional authentic mirin. It adds refined sweetness to sauces and dressings, and is especially wonderful in braised beef dishes.

• Hon’kuzu is ultra-refined, pure arrowroot starch. With its clear appearance, smooth texture, silky mouth-feel, and strong jellying power, it is the highest grade starch available for savory and sweet preparations. This artisanal product comes from the Morino Yoshino Kuzu Honpo Company, which has been owned by the same family since the 14th century.

• Moshio is the earliest known Japanese sea salt. It comes from a 2,500 year old tradition of infusing salt-saturated sea water with seaweed to produce mineral-rich salt with the deeply satisfying umami flavor of seaweed throughout.

• Kishibori Shoyu (soy sauce) is a pure, wonderfully flavored, artisanal shoyu with a clear reddish brown color and a floral aroma. High quality steamed soybeans, toasted wheat, salt, and mineral water are left to ferment in 100-year-old cider barrels for a full year to develop complex flavors.

• Wagyu is the real Wagyu beef from Japan. The superior quality of the meat speaks for itself through the full marbling of snow-white fat in the muscle, bright red-orange color, melting tender texture and taste unmatched by any other beef in the world.

• Kidary Jukusei Miso is a cider barrel fermented red barley miso. It has unique barley aroma and flavor with a lingering sweet aftertaste. This product is a must-try for anyone who has known only conventional soybean and rice miso.

• Mutenka Mugi Miso No additives or preservatives are present in this additive-free white barley miso, so it continues to ferment and develop its aroma and flavor. This miso is short-fermented, resulting in a light beige color, with a mellow sweet flavor and the chunky texture of whole barley grains.

• Kuromame Miso is made from black soybeans and rice koji (fermentation starter). It has a milder bean flavor reminiscent of chickpeas. Its color is a refined, pale purple. This is a truly remarkable miso with unique characteristics for cooking and flavoring.

• Suzu Shio this Noto Peninsula sea salt is made by traditional methods using the cleanest sea water in a region that has been producing salt since the 16th century. Mineral-rich suzu shio has a superb balance of saltiness, acidity, bitterness and sweetness.

• Blended teas are a collection of creatively blended top quality Japanese green teas and fresh herbs. Toasty Japanese hojicha and chamomile produce the Chamomile Blend, a soothing, satisfying brew. Refreshing peppermint and green tea combine to make the Peppermint Blend which is is delicious hot or cold. Popped rice gen’maicha mixed with Jasmine tea comprise the Jasmine Blend, a stimulating beverage with, or following, a meal.

• Seikayo Matcha is a special matcha green tea powder for baking with additional chlorophyll. The powder does not clump as does ordinary matcha produced for drinking. It easily mixes with any baking ingredient, liquid or powdered (milk, flour, etc.).The baked goods not only have a delightful matcha flavor, but also a beautiful green color that remains stable even after long periods of baking.

About New York Mutual Trading, Inc.
Founded in 1926, the Mutual Trading Company imports 4,000 food and beverage products, cooking utensils and tableware items. The company supplies the majority of Japanese restaurants in the United States. MTC has organized 13 consecutive Japanese Food & Restaurant Shows in New Jersey and New York.

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Contacts: Jennifer Anderson, Stephanie Teuwen
212-244-0622
jennifer@teuwen.com, stephanie@teuwen.com