[insects and birds chirping]
[grass rustling gently]
[light ambient music]
♪ ♪
Isaac: Every nation
has its own noodle
lying at the heart
of so many iconic meals.
It's just a few simple ingredients
that can be magically transformed.
This is a story
about one of the world's most comforting foods.
[water bubbling lightly]
♪ ♪
[soft ambient music]
♪ ♪
No one knows what first inspired
the making of noodles
or where on Earth it first happened.
Many believe it all started in the East
in China 4,000 years ago.
[birds chirping]
The stretching of dough into strands.
An idea that would travel
the trade routes of the world.
♪ ♪
One enduring legend
is that the explorer, Marco Polo,
returned to Europe
from the court of Kublai Khan,
carrying with him the secret of the noodles.
[soft, indistinct chatter]
Although Italians insist that pasta
is their own invention,
what we know for sure
is that all these cherished noodle dishes
owe their legacy to families.
Recipes passed down through generations.
Meals that remind us of home.
[insects chirping]
[light piano music]
Every noodle has a tale to tell.
And this is the story of soba
and a mother named Mutsuko.
She was taught to make soba noodles
by her grandma in Japan.
Now she takes pride in sharing this meal
with a new generation.
[birds tweeting]
♪ ♪
Mutsuko begins
by grinding tiny seeds of buckwheat
into flour.
[seeds rattling]
♪ ♪
Just as her grandma once showed her,
she grinds slowly,
careful not to generate heat
between the millstones.
This would damage buckwheat's delicate flavor.
♪ ♪
For many Japanese families,
the making of soba noodles
is a ritual,
each step treated with reverence.
[tapping lightly]
♪ ♪
This centuries-old dish is so much more
than just a list of ingredients.
To understand it,
you have to unravel a story
of family and tradition.
You have to go back to the beginning
to the land.
[wind howling]
In the shadow of the Japanese Alps
grows the world's most famous buckwheat.
Its secret?
The waters that come from these mountains.
[soft ambient music]
[water rushing]
As the last snows of winter melt away,
ancient rivers and streams reemerge.
[water roaring lightly]
And in the spring,
these powerful currents
extract nutrients from the land.
[birds chirping]
[water rushing]
♪ ♪
[water rushing]
These mineral-rich waters
flow into the fields of Nagano.
[vehicle drones]
Generations have worked this land
and treasured this soil.
This little buckwheat
is deceptively named.
It's actually an herb,
one that grows and blossoms
in less than 40 days.
[light ambient music]
♪ ♪
[birds chirping]
It's almost as if
it snows twice in Nagano
during the winter,
and once again in the spring
when the fields of flowering buckwheat
turn white.
[buckwheat rustles gently]
[music fades]
[light piano music]
[water pattering]
♪ ♪
Buckwheat loves water,
and Mutsuko has learned to sense
just how much it needs.
[soft rustling]
Just as her grandma taught her,
she works with intuition and patience.
Waiting for that tell-tale feeling
in her fingertips.
Every sweeping motion of her hands
is like a wave
that knows just where to rise and fall.
♪ ♪
This is a special step
in Mutsuko's process.
It's called kikuneri.
As she molds the dough,
she creates overlapping petals
that form a flower
that has deep significance in Japan.
A chrysanthemum.
[birds chirping]
[bells ring softly]
♪ ♪
Chrysanthemums have a curious connection
to buckwheat.
Both are symbols of good fortune
and a long and happy life.
But neither originated in Japan.
They were brought here by monks
who traveled the lands of Southeast Asia.
[birds chirping]
[rich ambient music]
♪ ♪
Long ago, Buddhist monks
journeyed east from India,
across the vast plains of Myanmar
through China to Japan.
They brought with them scriptures
and teachings.
But it wasn't just wisdom they shared.
They carried the seeds of chrysanthemums
and grains of buckwheat.
♪ ♪
As they traveled,
they created temples
where they gave out gifts to the poor,
bowls of buckwheat porridge.
♪ ♪
[monks chanting softly]
As the centuries passed,
this gift of buckwheat
would be completely transformed
by the Japanese
into wondrous strands
of soba noodles.
[light music]
♪ ♪
For Mutsuko, rolling out the dough
is like her own personal meditation.
She could use a machine of course.
But for Mutsuko, good soba
is all about making a connection to the dough.
[roller sliding softly]
When the dough is almost paper-thin,
it's time to slice the noodles.
[soft tapping]
Each strand is just millimeters wide.
But soba must also be long.
They say each single noodle
promises a long and healthy life.
♪ ♪
The subtle, Earthy flavors of soba
are so revered
that these noodles
are often cooked and served very simply...
on their own.
[wind whooshing softly]
During the colder months,
noodles around the world
are eaten in warm and savory soups.
[light orchestral music]
♪ ♪
Noodles of all shapes and sizes
are so often found
in our favorite winter dishes
with aromas that conjure the comforts of home.
[soft, indistinct chatter]
Jewish chicken noodle soup,
the age-old cure for the common cold.
Minestrone,
the heartiest of peasant soups
from the cold Italian hills.
Even the word "noodle"
was born in soup.
The Germans created it
to describe the floury dumplings
they serve in a winter broth.
[tender ambient music]
♪ ♪
[wind whooshing softly]
Mutsuko has prepared a broth,
and is now ready to share her grandma's legacy
with a new generation...
[water bubbling]
Her daughter.
♪ ♪
Within each savory mouthful
are the hidden ingredients
of every great family recipe:
the moments that bring us together...
The traditions of the past...
And the gifts of the land.
♪ ♪
[birds and insects chirping]
[soft ambient music]
♪ ♪
[music fades]
[birds chirping]