Botan Rice Candy is a specific brand of a category of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

called bontan ame (ボンタンアメ). Bontan ame are soft, chewy, citrus-flavored candy with an outer layer of

rice paper Rice paper is a product constructed of paper-like materials made from different plants. These include: *''Thin peeled dried pith of Tetrapanax papyrifer'': A sheet-like "paper" material was used extensively in late 19th century Guangdong, China ...

or oblaat. The rice paper is clear and plastic-like when dry, but it is edible and dissolves in the mouth. This candy was invented by Seika Foods in 1924. During this period, more and more Western-style sweets were becoming popular in Japanese society, and the appearance of this type of candy is intentionally similar to Western-style

caramel Caramel ( or ) is a range of food ingredients made by heating sugars to high temperatures. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons or candy bars, as a topping for ice cream and custard, and as a colorant ...

candies. In Japan, these candies are sold as dagashi, cheap candies and snacks marketed to Japanese schoolchildren, and are often in small sizes with bright colorful packaging with stickers or prizes included. ''Bontan'' (ボンタン) is a variant spelling of ''buntan'' (ブンタン), the Japanese word for

pomelo The pomelo ( ; or pummelo, ''Citrus maxima''), also known as a shaddock, is the largest citrus fruit. It is an ancestor of several cultivated citrus species, including the bitter orange and the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid citrus fr ...

, which is commonly used as a flavoring.

Botan Rice Candy

The specific brand Botan Rice Candy is an iconic export whose packaging for the American market has remained essentially unchanged for decades. This brand is currently imported to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

from

by JFC International. JFC's Botan Rice Candies come in a small cardboard box which contains of candy. Each box contains six individual pieces and a sticker. The candy's name, Botan (hiragana: ぼたん), is a pun on the name of the larger category ''bontan ame'': ''botan'' means

peony The peony or paeony () is any flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'', the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguish ...

, but the brand also has the traditional ''bontan'' (pomelo) citrus flavor. A peony blossom is shown on the label, next to an inu hariko, a traditional Japanese papier-mâché dog.

Ingredients

Glucose syrup (

corn starch Cornflour, cornstarch, maize starch, or corn starch (American English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the seed, kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thick ...

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

, sweet rice,

, lemon

flavoring A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive that is used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of ...

, orange flavoring and

Allura Red AC Allura Red AC, also known as FD&C Red 40 or E129, is a red azo dye commonly used in food. It was developed in 1971 by the Allied Chemical Corporation, who gave the substance its name. It is usually supplied as its red sodium salt but can al ...

. Alternate ingredients list: Mizuame (millet starch, water), sugar, sweet rice, water, lemon flavoring, orange flavoring, and

. United States import version:

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup that is made from the starch of corn/maize and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften Mouthfeel, texture, add vol ...

, sugar, water,

glutinous rice Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...

flour, wafer paper (

potato starch Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. Th ...

, sweet potato starch,

rapeseed oil Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historica ...

, soy

lecithin Lecithin ( ; from the Ancient Greek "yolk") is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues which are amphiphilic – they attract both water and fatty substances (and so ar ...

), natural flavor and Allura R3d AC.

Nutritional information

''Serving size: 6 pieces ()
'' ''Servings per container: 1
'' ''Calories: 60
'' ''Calories from fat: 0
'' ''Total fat: 0.0g
'' ''Sodium: 0 mg
'' ''Total carbohydrate: 14g
'' ''Sugars: 2g
'' ''Protein: 0g''

Other brands

Seika Foods created the original ''Bontan Ame'' in 1924. They also sell some other variants such as Pineapple Ame. Another brand of the same candy is ''Tomoe Ame'', with similar taste, packaging, and insert stickers. Other brands of ''bontan ame'' include ''Satsumaimo'' and ''Hyōrokumochi'' (Six Soldier Mochi).

References

External links