Juushika ([info]juushika) wrote in [info]smilingbread,
2006-02-21 19:16:00
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  • Mood: cheerful
  • Music: Shiroi Ryu - Spirited Away

Kompeito! (Japanese sugar stars, 20 pictures)

First post, so hi everyone!




Kompetio/Konpeito

I have an huge fascination with and love for these cute Japanese candies sometimes referred to as sugar stars. According to Wikipedia:

Kompeito ... is a Japanese candy originally made in Portugal. The word Kompeito comes from the Portuguese word confeito, which means a sugar candy. It was introduced to Japan somewhere around the 15th and 16th century by traders from Europe.

Kompeito is usually 5 to 10 millimeters in diameter. It is surrounded by tiny bulges, which occurs in the cooking process. It usually takes 7 to 10 days to make a Kompeito and they are handmade even today. It is made by showering sugar water in a giant spinning tub called dora. This forming process is a topic in molecular engineering, as these bulges would not form if the tub spun faster.

Kompeito have been featured in the Sailormoon S movie, Miyazaki's Spirited Away, and the anime Bleach and manga Paradise Kiss, amoung other places. They can sometimes be found in Asian markets. I'm only beginning to learn about them outside of a rare treat, and it turns out there are many, many colors and flavors of Kompeito, which are a cultural icon in Japan. They are incredibly cute and can even be beautiful. Plus, they're a lot of fun to eat.

Enjoy the pictures. They come from all over the internet, but the best (and some more wonderful images) are on Hidemi Co.



   








Hydrangea




Iris


Cosmos


Cosmos multicolor


Sakura


Sakura multicolor


Forget-Me-Not


Wysteria



   
Miwako's "Magic Medicine" from Paradise Kiss


Soot sprites with kompeito in Spirited Away





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  • 33 comments

[info]labyrinthcookie

February 22 2006, 03:20:51 UTC 6 years ago

Kompeito is sooooo good. I had some when I went to Asakusa. Is there anywhere one can buy them online?

[info]juushika

February 22 2006, 03:23:23 UTC 6 years ago

I've only seen the normal bags at J Box and Asain Food Grocer.

[info]bella_dawl

February 22 2006, 03:24:09 UTC 6 years ago

it looks like rock candy..

but a lot cute!!

[info]juushika

February 22 2006, 03:26:19 UTC 6 years ago

They are a lot like rock candy, although they're smaller (and therefore easier to eat), have a more gentle texture (no hard crystal edges), and, well, they're cuter.

[info]muryoku

February 22 2006, 03:27:50 UTC 6 years ago

those are so pretty

[info]telethons

February 22 2006, 03:28:04 UTC 6 years ago

I looooooooooooooooove them!

[info]hanako

February 22 2006, 03:32:29 UTC 6 years ago

oh my god i love rock candy already, and this looks millions time more tastier. *__* i want! <3

[info]love_janine

February 22 2006, 04:15:14 UTC 6 years ago

^_^ Kompeito always makes me smile!
Lovely photos!

[info]jesseesgirl84

February 22 2006, 04:58:12 UTC 6 years ago

Pretty!

[info]tian_shi

February 22 2006, 05:15:01 UTC 6 years ago

Do the different colors taste differently? I think these are pretty enough to just fill a jar with and let it sit on a windowsill.

[info]dameelysia

February 22 2006, 05:53:04 UTC 6 years ago

I'd make them into a necklace...

[info]swan_princess

6 years ago

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[info]bluestarryskies

February 22 2006, 07:28:11 UTC 6 years ago

s2 I want some right now..

Ahh.. so that's what they're called. Heh. When I was little, I called them little stars, I didn't know that they're called Kompeito.

[info]orangelo

February 22 2006, 07:33:20 UTC 6 years ago

so cute
:)

[info]beignet

February 22 2006, 10:09:43 UTC 6 years ago

Oh my god, they loook sooo cute! & delicious!

[info]swan_princess

February 22 2006, 12:47:16 UTC 6 years ago

I LOVE kompeito!! I have a little decorative jar of it on my shelf. :3 Have you heard about how it's made? It's so neat~

[info]juushika

February 22 2006, 19:24:40 UTC 6 years ago

Yeah—there was even a website I found in my searches that studies the science behind the bumps. They had graphs and stop motion steps of the kompeito forming. It was quite cool.

[info]amcam

February 22 2006, 13:13:42 UTC 6 years ago

oh.. i never like the taste of these but they are so cute!

they have some small bags at a japanese grocery near me.. do you want?

[info]juushika

February 22 2006, 19:25:42 UTC 6 years ago

I looked for these at the big Asian superstore in town but couldn't find them, at least last time I was there. The boyfriend and I are on a search now to see who in the state supplies them. You're lucky to have them in town.

[info]amcam

6 years ago

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[info]hanako

6 years ago

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[info]juushika

6 years ago

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[info]dragonfly1867

February 22 2006, 14:56:56 UTC 6 years ago

Thanks for posting the name! My daughter loves Hamtaro, and these candies are featured in one of the episodes. They were also an important clue in one of the episodes of the Japanese television show Trick.

[info]zeltkaiserin

February 22 2006, 17:15:31 UTC 6 years ago

beautiful post!

[info]juushika

February 22 2006, 19:26:24 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you!

[info]tc_anime

February 22 2006, 18:43:00 UTC 6 years ago

holy cow that is alot of star candies. they are soo good. but i had NO IDEA they had so many flavors.. thats awesome

[info]juushika

February 22 2006, 19:27:27 UTC 6 years ago

Me neither, until I learned the name and started doing research. One site compared them, in variety and popularity, to jelly beans. It looks like that's about right—there are so many of them!

[info]ex_gantai

February 22 2006, 21:50:12 UTC 6 years ago

those look yummy

[info]kawaiikat

February 23 2006, 23:11:00 UTC 6 years ago

so pretty! i will start looking for some!~

[info]kudasai_xx

February 25 2006, 01:35:18 UTC 6 years ago

Aww I really want some of that, I've been dying to try it for a while now. :[

[info]8toushin

February 25 2006, 22:11:13 UTC 6 years ago

mmm. i have some konpeito in my room. -goes and gets- mmm. -eats- they're so cute.

[info]valexx

March 10 2006, 20:54:06 UTC 6 years ago

I remember them for my childhood and I'm Portuguese! :D

[info]heycheri

May 18 2006, 21:01:47 UTC 6 years ago

Yuuummmm!! It looks like rock candy. MMMM.
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