There are so many unusal flavours that are super traditional and popular in Japan but not really well known abroad, which I think is such a shame. So I am going to introduce a few of my favourites in this post, that I think you should definitely make a point to try out!
I am going to put a few links in the article to make sourcing easier for you. For transparency I want to also tell you that I might earn a small comission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon associate – there are no additional costs for you though! And by the way: You can even order things directly from Amazon Japan if you can not find them on your own country’s page! You just need to log into Amazon Japan with your normal username and password and put your home adress as your delivery adress. It will even add customs taxes (if needed) etc. to the total price so you don’t get any nasty surprises. I have personally gotten a lot of stuff this way when I was living back home 🙂
KINAKO roasted soy bean flour
Kinako has a slightly similar taste to peanut butter – toasted & nutty flavours and a slight sweetness. What makes is very different though is that is neither fatty nor sticky! And because it comes in powder form it can be used in more versatile ways. I really adore this flavour and one of my favourite uses is in icecream! Or for a more traditional approach sprinkeld over “Warabi Mochi”.
Personally I like Kyoto Style Kinako more because it is roasted more intensely and thus has a deeper flavour. Which makes it more suitable for flavouring things without having to use too much and compromising the texture (f.e. of icecream or cakes).
Amazon Japan: if you want to check out the original product suggestion
Check Amazon.com for shipping with in the states
Check Amazon.de for European shipping
MATCHA powdered green tea
Lots of you will know about Matcha or have even already tasted it. I am adding it here because I wanted to show you how nice Matcha powder should look like (very green!) and even more importantly I wanted to tell you: PLEASE KEEP YOUR MATCHA IN THE FREEZER! (Put it in an airtight container first) This is such an important point and it gets totally slept on by people for some reason, so you can see this as my good deed of the day :). It is expensive enough as it is, so I feel obligated tell you the secret on how to keep it fresh and tasty. I would advise against Matcha that is marketed “for baking” because it just means of lesser quality and that in turn usually just means bitter and bland. So invest in a smaller quantity of something that is at least drinkable, you won’t use tons of it anyway!
Amazon Japan: if you want to check out the original product suggestion
Check Amazon.com for shipping with in the states
Check Amazon.de for European shipping
SURI GOMA ground black sesame
It’s such a lovely and easy flavour for ice creams! You can mix it with Kinako (see above) or use it on it’s own. If you want to make it yourself: roast some sesame seeds – be careful with the black sesame because it’s hard to judge if they get burned because of the colour – let them cool and grind them up. Depending on the recipe you can use black sesame paste instead of powder as well.
Amazon Japan: if you want to check out the original product suggestion
Check Amazon.com for shipping with in the states
Check Amazon.de for European shipping
I hope you get to incorporate these flavours into your dessert making! It is a very easy and low entry barrier for getting an authentic Japanese taste! Have fun 🙂
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