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[Noda Horo's Pitcher has been added]

Since its establishment in 1934, Noda Horo has been the only company in Japan that has been integrating all the processes of enamel production in-house. They have continued to pursue their enamel business by repeating the process of welding steel plates to form the base, applying glassy glaze one by one by hand, and firing at high temperatures.

The surface of the enamel pitcher made by Noda Horo is resistant to acid and salt because of its vitreous quality, and is excellent in terms of hygiene, which is the most important aspect of a pitcher, because it is odor-resistant and easy to clean. The simple and beautiful shape without decoration seems to be a direct embodiment of Noda Horo's idea that "a tool should be something that helps people, comforts their mind, and can be used with peace of mind."

With a full water capacity of 1.7 L, you can use it to hold plenty of water or drinks. If you prepare a pitcher, you will never have to get up from your seat for a refill of water. Why not welcome it to your dining table as an item for enjoying your daily mealtime slowly?

Noda Horo's Pitcher
https://www.shokunin.com/en/noda/pitcher.html



It was a great morning. Please give it a try.

Banana Steamed Buns

2 eggs
60 g light brown sugar
1 tablespoon condensed milk
3 tablespoons soy milk
3 tablespoons rice oil
1 banana
120 g light brown sugar flour
4 g baking powder

1. Stir eggs in a bowl, add millet sugar and mix well. Add condensed milk, soy milk, and rice oil.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder, mix with the bananas cut into 1 and the flour mixture, and when the mixture is flour free, pour the batter into a baking pan lined with a cookie sheet.

3. Place 2 on the steaming pot and steam over high heat for about 20 minutes.

Yamaichi's Chinese Seiro
https://www.shokunin.com/en/yamaichi/seiro.html
Tadafusa's Kitchen Knife
https://www.shokunin.com/en/tadafusa/houchou.html
Yoshita Handi-Design Studio's Tegakari
https://www.shokunin.com/en/yoshita/tegakari.html

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[Always Keep Karinto in Mind]

I have taken the liberty of conducting a "karinto questionnaire." Do you like karinto? Do you dislike karinto? Some of the responses included "I quite like karinto," "I actually like karinto," "I don't buy karinto for myself, but if I had some, I could eat it forever," etc. Some karinto fans even went so far as to say "I go buy karinto for myself." Although people don't talk about it openly, I can see that it is still very popular. Karinto is made by kneading flour, sugar, salt, water, and other ingredients with an expander and deep frying the dough in oil. The final step is to sprinkle brown or white sugar over the dough and let it dry. In addition to this simplicity and crispy texture, the dough is not flashy, but its relaxing form may be what attracts people to it.

The original form of today's karinto was born in the Edo period (1603-1867). Karinto vendors appeared in downtown Edo (present-day Tokyo), and karinto became popular as a cheap snack for the common people. Before that, there are various theories. Some say that the ancestor of karinto was a Chinese confection introduced from Tang China by a Japanese envoy in the Nara period (710-794), some say that it came from Holland or Spain, because in Kyushu, karinto is called "Holland" and a Spanish confection called pestiño looks just like karinto. There is also a theory that the name "karinto" is derived from "Holland" or "Spain".

There are various types of karinto that have now spread throughout Japan, such as Iwate Prefecture's Taro karinto with brown sugar swirls, Gifu Prefecture's Goheimochi karinto flavored with Goheimochi, and Nagasaki Prefecture's Jyagaimo karinto with potatoes kneaded into it. And the three major karinto in Tokyo are Kozakura Karinto, Yushima Kagetsu, and Ginza Tachibana. Tachibana karinto is located about 15 minutes from our Ginza Showroom. Founded in 1909, it is a long-established shop that has been in business for more than 100 years.

At first glance, this "Tachibana" does not look like a karinto shop, and the frontage is small enough to allow one pair of customers to enter at a time, giving it a very special atmosphere. There are two flavors, "Koro" and "Saeda. As the name suggests, the "Koro" is a doughy, light and sweet cake with a hint of doughiness and no sugar soaked inside. In comparison, the slim "Saeda" is characterized by the fact that the sugar is soaked into the inside of the dough. The product is sold in bags, round cans, and square cans, and the packaging is adorned with the store's name, Tachibana flowers. The cream-colored wrapping paper and light-colored knotted strings are elegant and ideal for gift-giving.

Karinto, I feel like eating for the first time in a long time. There are antenna stores for each prefecture in the Ginza area. All of them have a wide repertoire of karinto, so you are sure to find your favorite local karinto. Please stop by when you are in Ginza.

P.S. The "karinto questionnaire" at the beginning of this article was just a random, personal survey of about 10 people close to me. Please don't be offended!

Koishiwara ware's Tobikanna Mamezara
https://www.shokunin.com/en/koishiwara/mame.html
Ginza Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/ginza.html
Tachibana
https://maps.app.goo.gl/tJ3THiRtCxS4bgjn6

References
https://wagashimiryoku.com/wagashi/karinto/
https://www.dwc.doshisha.ac.jp/research/faculty_column/17402
https://www.japan-eat.com/entry/2022/12/01/103542
http://www.karinto-fun.com
https://macaro-ni.jp/36535