How Five Of The Oldest Cooking Traditions Survived Centuries | Still Standing

these cooking techniques are among therarest and oldest in the worldfrom an 86 year old dough maker inGreece who is one of the last to makethin filo by handto a family in India that uses methodsdating back to the 1500s of trampling oncashew fruit to make a rare liquorand the soy sauce Artisan in Japan whobrews his recipe in handmade barrelsthat last 100 yearswe will take you on a tour of five ofthe world's culinary gems to see howtheir centuries-old Traditions are stillstanding[Music]making phyllo by hand can take up tofour hoursthe super thin layered dough is used inmany dishes in Greek cuisine like thefamous baklava and at 86 years oldyorio's hadsa perascos is one of the fewBakers in Greece that still makes itmanuallythis waywe started baking as a teenager and wasable to buy his own Workshop in the1960sat one point bakeries like his were allover Greecebut the rise of cheap and efficientindustrial baking meant that many momand pop shops just couldn't stay afloatyorio's found a way to stay in businessby focusing on the tourist trade andemploying only his wife Katarina and hisson Paris quevas foreignBakery to see how it is still standingevery day around 8 AM yoyos opens thedoors to their workshop and Katarinahangs signs to draw people inthe 17th century Venetian style housestands in the heart of the Old Town inrathimno on the Greek island of Crete[Music]to start the phyllo dough yurios putsjust three ingredients into a largemixerflour water and salthalf an hour later he transfers themixture to this roller machine to beflattened and stretched Paris quevasportions out smaller pieces that need tobe exactly one kilostation Academywhile father and son need the doughballs mother cooks lunch[Music]yoyos rolls each piece by hand shapingthem into discsthen it's time for the tossthere is a reason behind thiseye-catching techniqueisthe dough is stretched over and overagain until the whole table is coveredit becomes so thin you can read throughitKatarina covers each dough layer withlinen to absorb moisture slowly withoutlosing elasticitythen the family repeats the processlayer by layer until there's severaltissue thin sheets stacked on each tablegoing round and round the table is sophysically demanding that yoyos has torest in between turnsOnce the dough is slightly dry it'sready to be folded for thehatzapiroskuses it's almost like a dancewith precisely coordinated movementsincluding a dusting of flour to preventthe sheets from sticking togetherthe phyllo leaves are then cut to sizeto be stored in the fridge until they'resoldall this work doesn't guarantee bigsalesso the family's profits rely mostly onthe sweets sold to tourists that come incurious to see how Philo is handmadeattractionsmachine made phyllo is cheaper andfasterefficient industrial production linescan churn out 100 to 300 kilograms ofdough an hourstiff competition doesn't deter your yoshe also makes kataifi shredded pastrythat is even more taxing for the 86 yearoldit takes him three hours and it sellsfor even less than the traditionalsheets of phylloum[Music]foreign[Music]but he found himself without a job afterthe 2010 economic crisis in Greeceso he decided to help his parents withthe family business[Music]just as yorio's business depends ontourism he too loves to travel when hecan Anglia Australia isif it weren't for the covid-19 pandemiche would have visited the Netherlands tosee friends he made when they visitedhis shop year after yearGreece was quick to control the spreadof the virus from the spring through thesummer but cases have spiked in the falland brought the country to a Nationwidesecond lockdown in Novembertourist traffic to the hatza parascus'sworkshop has dropped significantly in2020. lines to get in weren't uncommonin better yearsbut it still remains an importantLandmark for the community and localswill say it's the town's Main Attractionthey do Euro figurative[Music]so there is more beautiful[Music]Afghanistan foreignforeigninscription above the door has beenthere since long before the family movedinit served as a reminder of theimportance of their workin virtue a house shinessoy sauce is one of the most importantingredients in Japanese Cuisineyet only one percent of the country'sSupply is made through the traditionalmethod of barrel agingthat's because it can take four yearsfor one batch to go from Barrel tobottlesuo Yamamoto is a fifth generation soysauce maker and one of the only Brewersin the country who hand builds his ownbarrelsit's good at allreminds youmost fermented seasonings in Japan usedto be made this way butindustrialization replaced almost allthe country's wooden barrels with steeltoday the average soy sauce is madethrough a shorter chemicalized processso what does it take to make authenticsoy sauceand how was this Century's old methodstill standing[Music]what makes the soy sauce special is thewooden barrelcalled kyokeone can last for over a centuryYasuo makes bamboo strips to wrap aroundthe barrel because the saltiness of thesoy sauce can corrode metalumit takes at least three people toassemble one barrelbut not many do this anymoreafter Modern Machinery took over themarket almost all kioke makers in Japanwent out of businessso Yasuo learned to make his own[Music]okaybefore these barrels are put to usecrushed wheat and steamed soybeans aremixed with Koji the fungus that willkick start the fermentation processthis giant vat regulates temperature sothe fungus can growafter two days the mixture goes to themoromi housethis is where the wooden barrels helpcreate the breeding ground for thebacteriasoover one ton of the soybean mixturefills each Barrel along with salt waterwhile Yasuo and his team stirthe soybeans bump up against each otherand create tiny tears so that otherbacteria can get in and start to breakthem downthe workers pump air into the barrel tomake the aerobic yeast more activeeven though Yasuo says the microbes domost of the workhis part of the job is still demandingumhe checks on the soybeans every day tosee if they need mixingand based on their scent and appearancehe can tell where they are in theprocessitythe soybeans will ferment here for atleast a year and a halfyusua has 87 Barrels in different phaseshe believes a good Barrel is one thatwill outlive himthese types of Barrels have been inproduction in Japan since at least the17th centurybut everything changed during World WarII when materials became more scarce andexpensive in Japan the government knewits people couldn't live without theirstaple seasoningso they ordered factories to makeproduction cheaper and faster cuttingthe process from years to monthsso while many Brewers expanded andmodernized small businesses like yasuo'sfamilies could barely keep upYasuo stepped in in 2003. just beforehis father suddenly became sick and hadto retireso we had to take over and pull astruggling business out of debthe also had to teach himself a lot ofthe processlike how to use the Pressafter a year and a half of fermentationyosubo pipes the soybean mixture intothis machinehe layers on a piece of traditionalwrapping cloththen the machine slowly squeezes out thesoy sauce over 10 daysforeignfactories press it all at once but Yasuosays getting a quality product is allabout patienceafter this stage some of the soy saucegoes back into the barrel with moresoybeans and wheat for two more years tomake yasuo's main product saishkomi adarker stronger tasting soy saucewhen the microbes have enough time tonaturally ferment the soybeans it givesthe soy sauce a sweeter aftertastesome industrial Brands mimic this byadding sweetenersthat balanced Umami flavor is what chefslike hitoshi Kishimoto are afterhe's been running his restaurant koyomiin shiroshima for five yearsfor almost every dish he cooks withnaturally fermented soy sauce includingyasuo's brand honey[Music]in order for traditional soy sauce tocontinueBarrel production needs to keep upthat's why yusuo holds Barrel makingworkshops every year[Music]he sells his authentic soy sauce topeople all over the worlda bottle goes for 35 on Amazon aroundtriple the price of a commercialalternativeHigh Schoolfor Yasuo passing down the legacy ofbarrel-aged soy sauce is part of hislife's missionoh[Music]Jesusthe careersjuice from cashew fruit is the oneingredient in fenney a rare liquor madeonly in this part of the worldthis family is one of the few stillusing techniques that date back to the1500swhile some brands are pushing to bringfenny to the mainstream these Farmersfound a way to stay in business by handmaking small batches and selling locallywe visited Goa India to see how thecenturies-old tradition is stillstandingthe Gown God family searches their landfor fallen fruits every morning thefruits fall when they're ripethey use a wooden stick with a needle atthe end to pick up each cashew fruitgamkar is the matriarch of the 100 yearold family operationshe's been making fenny for 60 years andtook over the business after her husbandpassed awayduring sunny season from March to Aprilher children and grandchildren help outafter filling around eight buckets in anhour they take out the seedsOne By One The Family separates thecashew fruit from the cashew nutsthey sell the raw cashews to factoriesthat roast and package themthen it's time to juiceputs on mining Boots the hard Souls getmore juice out of the fruitshe grew up helping his mother on thefarm and has been doing this full timefor 25 yearsforeign[Music]the family used to use a big woodenstick for this step but they eventuallyfound that stomping with their feet wasmore effectiveit can get slippery so Santosh holds ontight for balancejuicing a full vat of cashew applestakes about an hourand in the 100 degree heat it can beexhaustingduring breaks they get fresh cashewfruit juice that you can't find instores it has a shelf life of just onedaythen Santosh piles the last bits offruit into a moundhe wraps it with a ropeand drags a few rocks on top to squeezeout every last drop of juice[Music]they leave the fruits like thisovernightmachines would speed up this processbut it's not an option for this familyumsays handmade Fanny tastes bettertimesthey throw away the fruit waste or giveit to Farmers to use as cattle feedbucket by bucket they filter out anypulp fibers through a cloththen the juice sits to ferment for twoor three daysthey transfer it into a copper drummeanwhile drupati prepares to seal thedrum by dousing a piece of cloth and mudthe mud comes from nearby ant hillsthe ants and snakes that live in theseMounds refine the soil which makes itbetter for sealing the tanksdrupati wraps the clay covered clotharound the openings to ensure no airescapesshe lights a fire to heat the juiceusing wood harvested from their landit burns for around 8 hourssteam passes through the pipe and into atank filled with water it cools down thevapor and a slow stream of odak comesout the other endis a less alcoholic beverage that thefamily sells when there's demandotherwise they put it back into thecopper pot and distill it for anotherseven to eight hoursonce it reaches the right temperatureit's fenny with 40 to 45 alcohol theyalso test it by looking at the bubbleswhich should be big and spread apartslowlythe family learned this through Decadesof experience and close observationisthey make 175 liters of Penny everyseason and usually sell all of it tolocal buyersbut business today looks a littledifferent than it used topeople in nearby Villages have moved tobigger cities for work so fewer peoplecome by to drink fennythe family brings in around 50 000Indian rupees or nearly 700 in a seasonin their operation probably won't begetting any bigger since buying moreland can be expensive the governmentauctions off trees to the highestbittersmeanwhile other funny makers in Goa arelooking to expand the market andpopularize the drinka brand called kazulo draws in localsand tourists with a tasting room andDistillery tours basically when you stepout from your your baptized into a newFanny drinkerone of the tour's big attractions is theunderwater aging techniqueworkers have to dive in the water topull out aged bottles of fennyhave feni that has been resting for morethan two years so that the flavorsmellow down but under controltemperature it was an old technique usedby the Georgians for wineskazulu gets its fenny from local farmerswho hand make it in the traditional wayjust like the Gown cut familysome of these methods date back to atleast the 1500s when farmers in thisregion used to make liquor from coconutpalm sap called tari our ancestorshad this thought where they said youknow what let's innovate let's take anextra step ahead you know if we can do adistal toddy which has sugar let's trythe sling fruitsafter the Portuguese brought cashewtrees from Brazil to Goa at some pointduring the 16th century distillingcashew feni became more common since itwas easier to produce it's been popularthroughout Goa ever sincebut it hasn't been able to break outBeyond state linesfeney comes under the Country Liquorcategory that very notionputs you in a place saying that you knowwhat it's an inferious but the worldoutside Goa is so difficult to enter interms of spiritit is a great spirit with a great storyand a great culture but we've not beenable to put it out so use chili and saltwe've been in a bubble for more than 200years if any has existedbut never spoken about and now it's timethat we come out of a bubblefor the Gown car family they're not surehow much longer their business willsustain themforeignthat's likethis is one of the oldest businesses inJapanis the only food on the menufor over a thousand years the restauranthas served worshipers who visit theShinto Shrine next door to pray for goodhealthmany believe eating the roasted ricecakes will protect them from diseasestoothe Shabba survived fires civil andworld wars and even smallpox epidemicsthrough it all 25 generations of onefamily kept it going blending food andfaithbut covid-19 has threatened the businessmore than anything elsewe visited ichimonjiwasuke in Kyoto tosee how it is still standing[Music]it all starts the skinowner Naomi hasagawa Cuts them from aspecial bamboo grown for ritual purposesaround the shrinethat's why they're considered sacred andtreated with as much care as anyingredient[Music]the important job of sterilizing them isonly for the Okami the owner and managernext she makes the sweet miso dippingsauceNaomi knows the recipe by heart shemeasures ingredients by eye and feelsthe mixture for consistencyshe learned it all from her aunt theformer Okamiumforeignshe combines today's batch withyesterday's leftovers for a richerflavorthis is a machine to make the Mochidough instead of the traditional methodof steaming and pounding with a mallet[Laughter]ideasforeignevery day she makes the first Mochi asan offering for the gods and herancestorsthen it's time to put it all togetherNaomi and her employees work on a wovenmat covered in roasted soybean powderthey cover the Mochi in it then measurethumb size pieces to stick on a skewerumto roast the Mochi she shuffles themuntil they reach a consistent dark colorit only takes about one minute but itrequires close attention since the Mochicould easily overcook or even worse thebamboo could burneven particular about the charcoal sheusesthis is pinchotan a high quality Oakcharcoal that's much harder than regularholesforeignmeans to roast so this is what makes thesnack a burimuchiumshe dips theobarimuchi into the Misosauce while they're still warm11 skewers and a cup of green tea cost500 yen are just under five dollarsNaomi and her predecessor have kept thatprice steady for over 30 years but havehad to bring the number of skewers downfrom 15.you are[Music]the imamiya shrine that ichiwa serveswas founded in 994. as Kyoto wassuffering from epidemics like smallpoxlocals worshiped Shinto deities who werebelieved to cure diseases and Grant longlifeNaomi says ichiwa's original Foundersserved the chief priest and then startedthe shop to serve worshipers as wellthey used to give a burimuchi away forfree and only sometimes received a smallgratuity from pilgrimsfrom the beginning it's been traditionalfor women in the family to run thebusinessisall rightNaomi is the 25th Okami to run ichuataking over for her aunt 13 years agoand she has made a few improvements tobring the business into the Modern Agelike providing Insurance to itsemployees and installing a time cardsystemshe draws the line at using deliveryappsforeignalthough ichiwa was born from a time ofplague nothing could have prepared thestaff for the coronavirus pandemicthe shop was forced to close for nearlytwo months in 2020 and it took on debtto ensure employees were still gettingpaid even while it was shuteven the government's National tourismincentive program wasn't enough to bringmany customers backisforeignhopes for the future lie in the nextgeneration of her familybelieves her children or nieces andnephews will take over for her butthere's no set succession planand that's intentionalthat is[Music]she says she'd enjoy retirement butuntil that day there are faithfulvisitors to feedumforeign[Music]this is an ancient cooking tool calledametatewomen in Mexico have been using it forover 7 000 years to prepare traditionaldishes[Music]spends hours grinding chilies and herbsfor just one batch of mole[Music]mole is a thick Rich sauce that comes inmany variations contains dozens ofingredients and can take days to cookit's also one of the most popular dishesin evangelina's restaurant La CocinaNana Vidatoday she's preparing a rare kind ofmole called chichilobut it's not on the menu because sheonly makes it for people who are inmourning[Music]Yvonne Helena has dedicated her life topreserving these kinds of traditions andmethodsbut over the years she's watched cookswap meet that days for blunders andeven turned to packaged sauces from thesupermarketwe visited Oaxaca known as the land ofthe seven moles to see how the ancientways preparing this classic Mexican dishare still standingEvangelina buys all ingredients fresh ata local marketbuenos diasChileanancho chilies are kind of dried poblanopepper that have a smoky flavorEd oreganogracias hasta luego[Music]back at her restaurant Evangelina prepsthe onions garlic and sesame forroastingshe's part of the zapotec indigenousgroup that's lived in the Oaxaca Valleyfor thousands of yearswhen someone dies family usually preparechichilo together Evangelina made thisbatch especially for us to be able toshow the whole processshe puts the meat to boil in a handmadepot because the beef will take thelongest to cookin the state of Oaxaca there are seventypes of moleand every family has their own variationon the recipesisstomachforeign[Music]a smooth griddle to bring out the Smokyflavorsthe ancho chilies go first on high heatthe importance iswhen they get the perfect roast shesoaks them for about 30 minutes torehydrate and soften themEvangelina wastes no time she roastseverything quickly since this mole hasto be made faster than other kinds tomake it in time for a wakethe matate has been in evangelina'sfamily for 46 yearsthese grinding stones are carved wholeout of a quarry and they can weigh morethan 50 kilospracticesome commercial chefs have switched toblenders to make the process fasterbut Evangelina says that hand crushingthe ingredients makes the paste smootherand helps bring out intense flavors fromthe spicesthis is the most physically taxing stepand it can take two hours just to grindthe ingredientsRicoLos brazosiasindigenous groups in mesoamerica haveused the matate to make mole since thepre-hispanic timeit's believed to have originated eitherhere in Oaxaca or just to the North inwhat's now known as the state of Pueblathe Spanish arrived in the 15th centuryand people started mixing indigenousingredients like the native chilies withother Foods the Spanish fraudso today's mole is a fusion ofpre-hispanic and European cuisinesbut the authentic way of making it hasdwindled in popularitypre-made mole paste came on the marketin the 1940sblenders became popular in the decadesthat followed and they eventuallyreplaced the matate altogethersonobut Ivan Helena says traditional molestill beats out the kind made in ablenderislard is one of the final ingredients sheadds she melted into a pot and adds aground paste to frythen beef broth and corn dough to makethe mole thickershe stirs until the sauce is the perfectconsistencyFiesta moles that are served atcelebrations like one called Coloradohave brighter and sweeter and some evensay happier tastesbut this is a funeral mole so it has amore subdued and muted tasteIvan Helena's grandmother taught her howto cook mole when she was just sevenyears oldat 20 she learned how to make chichilomole from the women in her communityisat first making chichila mole was aheavy task for Evangelinabecause it reminded her of lossbut when she realized she had a chanceto preserve and share her culinaryknowledge I took on a new meaningis[Music]in 2017 she registered the brandnanavita named after her grandmotherback she exports Her mole as well aschocolate to the U.S and sells themonlineand evangelina's work is getting noticedthis year Her chichilo mole won theaward for the best ceremonial dish andanother for best decoration at atraditional food festival in Oaxacaa restaurant is open for tourist groupsand locals who want to eat thetraditional foodlocatedforeign[Music]she hopes her children will fall in lovewith cooking the same way she hasand if they do they have her recipeand of course her matateumtraditional