Sweets
Ichijiku no Kanroni
Ichijiku no kanroni — figs simmered in sugar syrup
Unripe figs grown for processing are slow-simmered with nothing more than water, sugar, and lemon juice — a simple preserve said to be put up at home every September and October, mostly in southern Miyagi, and shared around in jars.
- Origin: Miyagi
- About 300 km north of Tokyo
What it's made of
A simple candied preserve made by slowly simmering green figs, grown for processing, in nothing but water, sugar, and lemon juice. Simmering the fig whole, skin included, leaves the flesh with a smooth, syrupy texture, with the seeds' faint pop as an accent. A plain preparation that lets the fruit's natural sweetness carry the dish, it is said to keep well for a long stretch once jarred and refrigerated.
How it's made
Green figs are simmered slowly with water, sugar, and lemon juice in a pot. Once cooled, they are jarred and kept in the refrigerator, eaten plain or used in various ways depending on the household—as a yogurt topping, stirred into tea, and more, it is said. A large batch was once often made at once to share with neighbors and friends, it is said.
Why it took this shape
In Miyagi, growing green figs meant for processing and simmering them into a candied preserve is said to have become more common than eating fully ripened figs raw. This variety being grown only in Miyagi and parts of Fukushima, Yamagata, and Akita is also thought to be part of why simmering figs, rather than eating them fresh, took root as the region's standard way of enjoying them.
Before You Go
- How to shop in a depachika (department store food hall)A guide to browsing prepared foods and bento, choosing wagashi as a gift with a good shelf life, sampling etiquette, end-of-day discounts, asking for cold packs and wrapping, and finding your way around a depachika floor.
- At Kissaten, Cafes, and Kanmi-DokoroThe difference between jun-kissa and chain cafes, the morning-set custom, and kanmi-dokoro staples like anmitsu and zenzai.
Dishes in the same style
- Abekawa MochiFresh-pounded rice cake is dusted in soybean flour mixed with sugar. Named for the Abe River, it's said to have been famous among Tokaido travelers as a teahouse specialty and to appear in the travel novel Tokaidochu Hizakurige.
- Iga ManjuSweet bean paste is wrapped in rice flour dough, then coated with dyed sticky rice grains. One account ties the name to the grains' resemblance to a chestnut's spiny husk, and in the western Mikawa region it's said to be offered to Hina dolls at the Doll Festival.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Miyagi
- Aburafu DonDeep-fried wheat gluten, shaped into a log, is simmered in a sweet-savory broth and set with egg over rice, katsudon-style — a Tome City bowl said to trace to a tofu shop's shelf-stable gluten product, later turned into a bowl dish by a local innkeeper.
- AzaraNapa cabbage pickled long enough to turn sour is simmered slowly with rockfish trimmings and sake lees — a Kesennuma dish said to taste even better cold, or reheated the next day, long loved as everyday food.
- Bakke MisoButterbur sprouts picked in early spring — called 'bakke' locally — are boiled, chopped, and worked into a paste with walnuts and miso, said to be prized for helping clear the body of winter's buildup, spooned over rice or grilled fish.
- Donko JiruDonko, a brown hakeling landed at Ishinomaki and Kesennuma ports, is simmered in miso with daikon and tofu — a fish said to be considered lucky for money, given its wide mouth and narrow tail, and offered at the autumn ebisu-ko festival.
- Ebi MochiPaddy shrimp caught in irrigation channels and ponds are seasoned with soy sauce and sake, then folded whole into freshly pounded mochi — a Kurihara dish said to be served, red against white, to guests over New Year's.
- Fusube MochiLoach, grilled plain then smoked over an irori hearth, is ground to powder and simmered with grated daikon and burdock in a soy-chili sauce, then folded into freshly pounded mochi — said to be a mochi dish born of inland Kurihara's distance from the sea.