Karinto

Sticks of wheat-flour dough kneaded with sugar and water, deep-fried, then coated in a boiled sugar glaze — nothing more. The draw is a crunch that runs all the way through, layered under the sweetness of the glaze on the surface. Variants with brown sugar or sesame kneaded into the dough have also spread, and thickness and shape are said to range from thin strips to thick sticks by shop. Whether brown sugar is kneaded into the dough or glazed on after frying is said to change how the color and aroma come through.

Dough is rolled into thin sticks and fried slowly from a low temperature so the heat reaches the core. Fresh from the oil, the sticks are coated in a simmered sugar syrup — brown sugar for a dark finish, white sugar for a pale one. Too high an oil temperature and the core doesn't cook through; too low and it soaks up too much oil — judging the right heat is said to be the crux of the process. Fresh from the fryer it's fragrant, but many eaters are said to prefer it after the glaze has had time to settle in.

One account holds that karinto emerged amid a boom in refined confections in Edo from the early to mid-Edo period, made to rival the sweets of Kyoto. From the mid-Edo period on, vendors are said to have carried it through the Fukagawa district on shoulder poles, spreading it as an affordable treat within reach of ordinary people. It also has a history of being sold by weight at penny-candy shops, its character as an everyday people's sweet said to remain strong today.