HidaMari and Me
Image courtesy of Youtube
By JESSICA DING ‘22
As a major procrastinator, I have the ultimate love-hate relationship with YouTube. I must confess that since July of this summer, I have been obsessed with something quite unusual: cooking and baking videos. Some part of me just can’t stop watching “HidaMari ASMR Cooking,” a Japanese channel that makes cheesecakes, cookies, croissants, and many other sweet treats. Recently, “Cat’s Kitchen,” featuring 3-5 minute cooking videos with an adorable white cat as the mascot, has captured my attention—thanks to intelligent recommendation predictions, I can watch the channel for hours on end.
The more I watch food videos, the more I begin to notice, strangely, that the kitchen that these foods are made in. I can’t help but think about my kitchen back home, where I drop vegetables into the big black metal pan, splattering the oil and burning my arms in the process. Although HidaMari makes desserts—whereas my house doesn’t even have a working oven—these different kitchens tell their individual stories, stories I can connect to and learn from beyond the virtual temptation of the final dishes.
In the comments of HidaMari’s YouTube videos, 1.85 million subscribers reflect that the dessert-making process is an art to watch. Truly, HidaMari’s kitchen space, though never fully shown on screen, features clean, soothing materials and ingredients. Most of the videos involve clear glass bowls, standard cake models, and white spatulas. Still, once in a while, there might be a ceramic bowl with a white bear waving hello on the rim. In contrast to most other food videos, which tend to result in lots of waste, HidaMari always scoops the last bit off the cream cheese wrap and performs an endlessly satisfying cleaning scoop around the sides of the glass bowl (you’ll see what I mean if you watch one of HidaMari’s videos—definitely a holy moment). The baker also has swift and delicate movements. The butter is always chopped into little cubes, pieces, or sticks, and the chocolate is cut into intricate shreds.
Having stayed in three Airbnbs in Japan, I’ve seen this type of kitchen in person. With their clean blocks of white and gray, these spaces have a sense of openness and airiness, elements that are common in Japanese interior design. Yet, to balance out the coldness of this design, many Japanense people choose to add colorful decorations or utensils, both of which lighten the mood. Another popular addition in Japanese kitchens is handy, well-designed gadgets, examples of which are featured on HidaMari’s channel. Through food, “HidaMari ASMR Cooking” demonstrates notable qualities of Japanese culture: carefulness, frugality, and high quality. As I watch these dessert videos, I’m immersed in the sweet world of Japan that HidaMari shares through these treats.