An Automated Machine Turns Seven-Spice Seasoning Back into One-Spice—and Predicts a Gourmet's Verdict
The Fully Automated Motomura Shichimi Sorting Machine separates the chili peppers from shichimi, a Japanese seven-spice blend, to produce ichimi, or single-spice chili pepper seasoning. It is designed to sort different types of ingredients.
The machine also incorporates Pockét YUZAN, a large language model that predicts the comments of Kaibara Yuzan, a gourmet character from the manga Oishinbo. Its creators, the five-member group Bishoku Club, work on recreating the labor-intensive food preparation depicted in the manga using modern technology.
See the Motomura Shichimi sorting machine section in the linked report.
Turning seven-spice seasoning back into one-spice seasoning is already a lot of work. This machine also asks AI to predict what a famously demanding gourmet would say about the result. The preparation is becoming an epic undertaking.