Echigo Shiratama Hompo

Shiratama flakes has been popular among  people since the Genroku era (mid Edo period).

Shiratama powder prepared during the severe winter is also called "KANZARASHI-KO" in the old days, and it was considered to be a high-grade product of Shiratama flakes.

I can imagine Shiratama flakes made in Niigata in winter was brought to a wholeseller in Edo city,  it might give happy aftenoon tea time for Edo city people.

 

In the old manufacturing process of shiratama flakes, glutinous rice was exposed to water to contain plenty of water, water-milled with a stone mill, and the liquid turned into a milky liquid was allowed to settle and dried with frequent replacement of mulberry water. So, in warm climates it will lose its flavor or, in the worst case, rot.

(Now, it will not rot because it is ground in electrically chilled water and then dehydrated with a dehydrator and dried with force warm air.)

Therefore, glutinous rice harvested in the fall is stored in brown rice and exposed to cold water during the severe winter, so naturally the Shiratama flakes  has the highest quality.

 

However, if Shiratama maker immediately uses the glutinous rice that was harvested in the fall, it will be angry by the Japanese confectionery craftsmen who work with it. because it's too moisture and fresh for as rice cake material

So to prevent to make mad the customer rice cake master...

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Therefore, we dare to use old rice, or mix it with the glutinous rice produced in the previous year to adjust the raw material of the shiratama flakes so that the quality does not change throughout the year.

In other words, I dared to avoid using new rice.

 

Shiratama powder made from only glutinous rice, along with rice, will naturally have the quality of old rice one year after the summer.

Fresh rice harvested in the fall is put in the winter, the most delicious white shiratama powder of the year, if you can enjoy this all year round...

While thinking about such a thing, We learned about the snow aging food study efforts of the Niigata Yukimuro Brand Business Cooperative at "Echigo Yukimuroya".

It has been researched that the rice stored in the snow room retains the flavor of fresh rice all year round at a constant temperature and humidity that can only be achieved in the snow cooling room.

With this method, it is possible to maintain the quality of the white shiratama flakes that was prepared during the severe winter season.

With that in mind, we worked with the Niigata Yukimuro Brand Business Cooperative for a year, and when we evaluated the taste in the next autumn, the white snow powder preserved in the snow cooling room has a surprisingly transparent color even when compared to our regular white powder It became a white, soft, soft shiratama that did not harden all day long.

The people at Echigo Yukimuroya who evaluated the tasting also highly evaluated that it was the first time that the processed foods had such a difference.

 

Shiratama flakes stored in the snow cooling room can be enjoyed with fresh, fresh and fair white balls all year round.