A taste of Kobayashi City

2020 has been a strange and challenging year. We’ve all been spending more time indoors than ever before, which has meant finding new and interesting ways to stave off boredom. I cycled through the typical lockdown hobbies of binge-watching TV shows and growing a little herb garden on my balcony, but the one that brought me the most joy was cooking. I enjoyed finding new recipes and trying out cooking methods for the first time. And so, it felt like perfect timing when I received this beautiful assortment of cheeses and yoghurt from Daiwa Farm in Kobayashi City, Miyazaki Prefecture. I couldn’t wait to dive in and immediately started thinking of how to use each item to its full potential.

The first thing to catch my eye was the drinking yoghurt. It had a thick, creamy texture and a pleasant tangy aftertaste, so I thought it would be a perfect accompaniment to some sliced fruit and granola. 

This made for a delicious and filling breakfast that felt cool and refreshing on a hot June morning.

Next up was the mozzarella. My immediate thought was that it would be perfect on pizza, but unfortunately my small Japanese kitchen doesn’t have the equipment to do that recipe justice. Instead, I thought of another way I usually enjoy mozzarella – in the form of deep-fried mozzarella sticks. I decided to cut the mozzarella into cubes, lightly breaded them with panko breadcrumbs, and then fried until crispy outside and deliciously oozy inside. I served these with some red pepper relish.

Finally, I turned to the Robidaiwa – a type of washed-rind cheese with a creamy texture. I admit I had never heard of this type of cheese before receiving the Daiwa Farm selection, so I was a little stumped at first on how to use it. Fortunately, I was able to turn to the Daiwa Farm homepage (http://www.daiwafarm.net/), which helpfully offers a guide on each cheese type and how best to serve them. Many of the cheeses seems to pair well with basil, tomatoes, bread or potatoes. As luck would have it, my aforementioned balcony herb garden was in full bloom and I was able to pick some fresh basil and some ripe tomatoes.

I decided to pair these with the cheese to make a delicious open sandwich. I sliced a baguette, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, added slices of the cheese, tomato and some basil leaves, with salt and pepper to finish. This was my favourite creation of all, and received widespread praise when served at Sunday brunch.  

Now that I had experienced a taste of Kobayashi, I wanted to know more about what else the city had to offer. I was intrigued to learn that Kobayashi City is well known for its hiking trails. One of the biggest things I missed during lockdown was the chance to get out into the mountains and enjoy wide open spaces, so the thought of hiking in the Kirishima Mountains really appeals to me. With a variety of lake trails and volcanic mountain hikes to choose from, it’s top of my list of places to visit once we can all start travelling freely again.

This post is supported by Kobayashi City Promotion Company Inc., one of City-Cost's Supporters helping City-Cost bloggers to enjoy life in Japan and engage in new experiences.