''Binchō-tan'' (, ), also called white charcoal or ''binchō-zumi,'' is a type of high-quality

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

traditionally used in Japanese cooking. Its use dates back to the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

when during the Genroku era, a craftsman named Bichū-ya Chōzaemon () began to produce it in Tanabe, Wakayama. The typical raw material used to make ''binchō-tan'' in Japan is oak, specifically , now the official tree of

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 876,030 () and a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture to ...

. Wakayama continues to be a major producer of high-quality charcoal, with the town of Minabe, Wakayama, producing more ''binchō-tan'' than any other town in Japan. ''Binchō-tan'' produced in Wakayama is referred to as ''Kishū binchō-tan'' (), Kishū being the old name of Wakayama. White charcoal is made by pyrolysing wood in a

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

at approximately for 120 hours, then raising the temperature to around . Once carbonised, the material is taken out and covered to

cure A cure is a substance or procedure that resolves a medical condition. This may include a medication, a surgery, surgical operation, a lifestyle change, or even a philosophical shift that alleviates a person's suffering or achieves a state of heali ...

in a damp mixture of earth,

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

, and ash. ''Binchō-tan'' is a type of hardwood charcoal which takes the natural shape of the wood that was used to make it. It is also harder than black charcoal, ringing with a metallic sound when struck. Due to its physical structure, ''binchō-tan'' takes on a whiter or even metallic appearance. Apart from being used for cooking, it has other benefits, such as absorption of odors.

References

External links

紀州備長炭
—Making of ''Kishū Binchōtan'' by Wakayama Pref.
炭琴
—''Tankin'' ("charcoal-xylophone")

– an article from 2001 touting the benefits of black and white charcoal, the latter including binchōtan {{DEFAULTSORT:Binchotan Allotropes of carbon Charcoal Edo period Fuels Japanese cuisine terms