The 'Taste Memories' That Come to Mind Each Season

Lee Joo-yeon's "Sense of the Seasons" delves into the profound connection between the flavors of each season and the memories they evoke, positing these as a source of strength to navigate the present. The food columnist embarks on a journey to rediscover these fleeting seasonal tastes through a contemporary lens.

The book intricately weaves together the 24 traditional Korean solar terms with corresponding dishes and the people associated with them. From spring's mountain greens and salted seafood rice bowls to summer's sweet corn and barley bibimbap, autumn's rice and matsutake mushrooms, and winter's taro, mackerel, and oysters, each dish serves as a vivid trigger for sensory recall. Lee also touches upon specific seasonal delicacies, such as Jeju's winter vegetables in 'Us' (Rain Water) and French goat cheese and charcuterie in 'Chunbun' (Spring Equinox).

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Summer is a difficult season, but it is also the season when the things that cool that heat are most abundant. We choose those ingredients, make a dish, wrap a meal, and chew a bite to get through the summer.

Lee notes that while eating seasonal foods according to the 24 solar terms aligns with a life in harmony with nature, the modern consumption of ingredients available year-round has led to a diminished sense of seasonality. Through "Sense of the Seasons," she proposes that rediscovering the seasons through taste can offer a renewed connection to the natural world. For Lee, the solar terms represent a 'sense of newness' and a way to infuse daily life with a sense of leisure. She reflects, "By following memories of times spent under the cherry blossoms, the food eaten then, the people we were with, the night air that made us tipsy, and the flutter of excitement, we realize anew that life is not made up only of bad moments."

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By following memories of times spent under the cherry blossoms, the food eaten then, the people we were with, the night air that made us tipsy, and the flutter of excitement, we realize anew that life is not made up only of bad moments.