Botan Rice Candy is a specific brand of a category of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

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" has many varieties such as rice paper made from tree bark to make drawing and writing paper or from rice flour and tapioca flour and then mixed with salt and water to produce a thin rice cake and dried to become harder and paper-like ...

Oblaat In Japan, oblaat ( ja, オブラート, oburāto) is a thin, edible layer of starch used to wrap some candies and pharmaceuticals, similar to capsules. Description Many types of Dagashi, Japanese candy are wrapped in oblate film, which is an ed ...

. 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 an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard. The process of caramelizatio ...

candies. In Japan, these candies are sold as

Dagashi ''Dagashi'' (Japanese: 駄菓子) refers to cheap candies and snack foods. ''Dagashi'' are comparable to American penny candy. The word ''dagashi'' is derived from the Japanese words ''da'' ("futile" or "negligible") and ''kashi'' (snacks). The ...

, 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 ( ), ''Citrus maxima'', is the largest citrus fruit from the family Rutaceae and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefr ...

, which is commonly used as a flavor.

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 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 clever pun on the name of the larger category ''bontan ame'': ''botan'' means peony, but this brand also has the traditional ''bontan''-like (pomelo-like) citrus flavor. A peony blossom is shown on the label, next to a cat.

Ingredients

Glucose Syrup (corn starch, water), sugar, sweet rice, water, lemon flavoring, orange flavor, FD&C Red No. 40 (Allura Red AC). Alternate ingredient list: Millet Jelly (millet starch, water), sugar, sweet rice, water, lemon flavor, orange flavor, FD&C red no. 40 (Allura Red AC). USA import: Corn Syrup, corn syrup, sugar, water, glutinous rice flour, wafer paper (potato starch, sweet potato starch, rapeseed oil, soy lecithin), natural flavor, FD&C Red No. 40.

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 Hyōroku mochi, ''Hyōrokumochi'' (Six Soldier Mochi).

References

External links