Is a Sulfite Allergy Dangerous?

Owner Closes 115-year-old 'soba' Shop Because His Kids Are Allergic

Takayuki Omori was shocked when he found bumps on the arms of his eldest son after letting him hold dumplings made from "soba" buckwheat flour three years ago.

His son, now 9, had just started attending elementary school at the time.

When Omori, now 44, removed his son's shirt, the child gave him a tearful look and complained that he felt itchy.

The bumps had spread across his chest and back.

Omori realized it was a symptom of buckwheat allergy.

He remembered that his son had developed hives for no apparent reason in the past. His eldest daughter, now 6, had also exhibited similar symptoms.

All he had to do was keep his children away from soba.

One problem: Omori was the fourth-generation proprietor of Sobadokoro Koshinan, a soba noodle restaurant founded 115 years ago in Tokyo's Koto Ward.

He was passionate about his work. He was continuously tinkering and went to great lengths to serve delicious noodle dishes.

Omori would travel to places to try buckwheat flour he heard tasted good, and spent months making aged roasted duck, hoping it would become a specialty at his restaurant.

But he began to feel like all his efforts were for nothing when he realized his children could not eat his soba noodles.

Omori felt a glimmer of hope when he read a post by a person online that said their allergy disappeared after entering junior high school. Maybe his kids would grow out of it.

But he did not know what he would do if his children remained allergic.

Omori washed his hands repeatedly before going home after work and was vigilant at ensuring that not even a speck of buckwheat flour was on his clothes.

He anguished over what to do for three years before he finally made up his mind to close the restaurant.

The last straw was the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Seeing so many lives lost to COVID-19, Omori decided that nothing is more valuable than health. So, he decided to only cook dishes that could be eaten by his children and would not put them at any risk.

The first thing that came to his mind was "udon." It is also a noodle, but it is made from wheat and his children are not allergic to it.

That might sound an easy enough change, but it was a struggle.

In February this year, Omori went to Kagawa Prefecture, the home of Sanuki udon, to attend a school and learn noodle-making techniques and how to prepare dashi stock.

Omori used to make dashi from dried bonito flakes for soba served at Koshinan and chose a type of soy sauce that would pair well with it.

But udon is served with dashi made from dried sardines, meaning that it would not go well with the same soy sauce.

While the amount of water is the decisive factor in cooking soba, temperature is crucial for udon.

The knowledge and techniques he had acquired from his soba-making career were of no use.

"(I must) protect my family, not the traditional taste," Omori said. "I thought it meant an evolution for Koshinan."

On June 2, the proprietor reopened the restaurant under a new name: Udon Kazoku Koshinan. The word "kazoku" means "family."

A little while ago, Omori served udon to his children, who opted for a bowl of noodles topped with slices of roasted duck--a dish he made when he was still running the soba restaurant.

After devouring the meal, his son said with a bashful smile: "It tastes good."

At least one of his patrons had said, repeatedly, that it was disappointing to see the soba restaurant close.

Someone had also posted on social media criticizing Omori for closing the 115-year-old soba restaurant out of regard for his family.

But Omori said he is not afraid of change.

He said he does not care what others say because he believes there is nothing wrong with protecting the smiles of his children.

(This article was written by Satomi Sugihara and Natsuki Edogawa.)

100 People Hospitalized After Consuming Adulterated Buckwheat Flour: 4 Ways To Do Purity Check At Home

The holy 9-day festival of Chaitra Navratri is going on. And when it comes to fasting food, items like fruits, buckwheat flour, and nuts are considered to keep you full and energetic during the fasting days. What if fast food turns out to be the reason for illness? As per a recent report, over 100 people fell sick and were hospitalized after consuming adulterated buckwheat flour in Dehradun. During the investigation, the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (FDA) raided shops and cases were registered against more than 12 people.During investigation, it was found that the families of the patients had purchased buckwheat flour from different shops, but the source of all the flour was linked to Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Vikasnagar (Dehradun).The investigation revealed that buckwheat flour was supplied by Govind Sahay Shankar Lal. The establishment was supplying buckwheat flour from Saharanpur (UP), Vikas Goyal Chakki. This chakki is located near Mogganj Jama Masjid, Thana Kotwali City, Saharanpur, where buckwheat flour was ground, Laxmi Trading, Sangam Vihar, Bhojwala Road, Vikasngar, Dehradun. This establishment was the main distributor of buckwheat flour in Dehradun.With the rising cases of food adulteration, it is important for consumers to be attentive and alert while shopping at the grocery store. As far as buckwheat flour is concerned, one can use these 4 simple tips to check the purity of buckwheat flour before shopping or consumption.Read labelsAs per experts, one of the easiest ways to check the purity of flour is to read labels. Read the ingredients details, check packaging dates, manufacturer details and nutritional information.

Water testTo perform a purity test at home, mix one tablespoon of flour in a glass of water. Genuine buckwheat flour will dissolve while adulterated substances like wheat, rice or starch will float on the surface or settle at the bottom.Colour testOne can also check the purity by observing the colour. Pure buckwheat flour boasts a distinctive brown colour. Its white or light shade will indicate adulteration with wheat or rice flour.

KneadingAnother way of checking the purity is by kneading it.If it is adulterated, it will tend to bind well and easily, due to the presence of gluten. If it crumbles initially and takes time to bind well, it means it is gluten-free and is good for health.

NoteIt is always suggested to buy packaged buckwheat flour and avoid the ones available in open or loose at grocery stores. There are higher chances of them being adulterated with other types of flours.Thumb and Embed Images Courtesy: istock

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