The Voices of Zojirushi – Saori!

We are enjoying a special treat this month as we get to know Saori, Zojirushi’s Recipe Tester & Developer. Her role at Zojirushi is as fun as it sounds! She develops and tests recipes under different conditions to make sure they turn out to be perfectly delicious when made in Zojirushi appliances. Too much water? Not enough electricity? The mix of ingredients not quite working? Saori takes all of the guesswork out of recipes so that when we make then, all we experience is “YUM!”

We caught up with Saori to talk about her creative inspirations and how they’ve influenced her as part of the Zojirushi team.

Tell us a bit about yourself. What types of foods do you love to eat?

I was born and raised in Nagoya, Japan. My favorite food from Nagoya is kishimen, which is a broad and flat noodle in a broth loaded with katsuobushi (bonito flakes), and ankake supa, which is thick spaghetti sautéed and topped with a thick, spicy, blended tomato sauce and other toppings like sausage, hard-boiled eggs, and bell peppers.

Kishimen

How did your love of food, especially Japanese food, lead you to Zojirushi?

Well, the ability to use my experience and love of cooking as my job was the first thing that drew me to the company, but the longer I stay, the more I realize that I enjoy the core qualities of this organization, patience and generosity, just like the elephant on our logo.

Our corporate philosophy is Creating a Quality of Life. How does your position or your job function create a better quality of life for our customers?

I help develop and test recipes that use ingredients that can be easily found in local markets, with kitchen tools available in any home, using Zojirushi products. Through these recipes, I hope our customers can find not only the joy of cooking, but also the joy of creativity, while thinking about their own ways to personalize recipes to their preference. Creativity, quality and true to its values… that’s what I feel we offer here. If it weren’t for these qualities, my job as a recipe tester would not be necessary.

When we develop recipes, we need to thoroughly test, and that often means every model!

Much of our product design focuses on safety, usability, practicality, quality, craftsmanship and stylishness. Do you have a favorite Zojirushi product that you believe embodies these qualities?

The Home Bakery Virtuoso® Breadmaker BB-PAC20, because while it makes bread-making easy for anybody, it also allows me to be creative and make my own, unique recipes. Some of my favorites are the Cheese ‘n’ Onion Bread and the Fava Bean Risotto. It was something else!

And if you could dream up your own next-generation Zojirushi product, what would it be?

My first choice would be an ice cream and soft serve maker. A unit that would fit in the freezer and mixes the ingredients to make ice cream and soft serve. My second choice is an indoor smoker. I would like to try making smoked salmon, smoked chicken or ham at home!

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Saori’s ideas sound delicious to us, and we can’t wait to find out what new recipe she comes up with. Be sure to subscribe to Zojirushi 101, so you get the latest recipes from Saori, and stay tuned as we meet more of the Zojirushi team next month.

 

Product Inspirations – Home Bakery Maestro™ Breadmaker (BB-SSC10)

It’s time to get baking, and we’re so excited to introduce our newest premium breadmaker: the Home Bakery Maestro Breadmaker.

We’ve created this breadmaker to make 1-pound loaves of bread, doughs, cakes, jams or your own creations, and have loaded it with healthy course settings. And we’ve designed this breadmaker with our newest innovations.

The Home Bakery Maestro Breadmaker features 15 courses, each of which alter the mixing, kneading, rising and baking functions according to the type of food to be made. Ten bread settings include traditional courses like White and Whole Wheat, as well as new settings for healthy baking, such as Multigrain, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Salt Free and Vegan. The breadmaker also includes four specific courses for Bread/Pizza Dough, Pasta Dough, Cake and Jam. One of the most unique features of this breadmaker is the Homemade course, which allows you to customize the knead, rise and bake time as well as store up to three custom programs to match your own homemade recipes.

The Home Bakery Maestro Breadmaker also comes with a new Auto Add Dispenser, which automatically adds ingredients such as dried fruit and nuts during the knead cycle.

No matter which setting you choose, the Home Bakery Maestro Breadmaker uses double heaters built into the bottom of the breadmaker to rapidly heat the interior of the baking pan to facilitate oven spring, helping to make breads with an airy crumb and a superior crust.

The easy-to-read LCD control panel and convenient key code on the lid make it simple to choose the course setting, select the crust color and set the delay timer. And cleaning is simple, as the baking pan, kneading blade and Auto-Add Dispenser are all removable so they can be cleaned with mild dish detergent and warm water. The sturdy handle makes it easy to move and store. Accessories include a full color recipe booklet with 50 delicious recipes, a liquid measuring cup and measuring spoon. All surfaces that come into contact with your food are BPA-free.

This compact breadmaker comes in a modern white finish, perfect for any kitchen decor.

But what kinds of goodies can the Maestro make? Health-conscious recipes include salt-free and sugar-free breads, like Salt Free Whole Wheat Bread and Sugar Free Whole Wheat Bread. Gluten-free breads are also easy to make in this breadmaker, especially ones like Gluten Free Brown Rice Bread. And our new setting for vegan breads includes a great recipe for Vegan Cranberry Walnut Bread where you can add the dried cranberries and walnuts using the Auto Add Dispenser. Recipes such as Lemon Cake, Quick Cheese ‘n’ Onion Bread, Blueberry Jam, Naan, Spinach Pasta and Whole Wheat Pizza Dough are just as easy to make.

Try out our new breadmaker, and find how-to videos and more recipes on the Home Bakery Maestro™ Breadmaker (BB-SSC10) website, exclusively for this new machine. And don’t forget to share your recipes with us!