Kinjo Mixed Jelly

These are kanten jellies, and kanten is not gelatin.

Agar was discovered in Japan in the seventeenth century — the story goes that an innkeeper left seaweed broth outside in the winter cold, found it frozen and dried, and rediscovered it as something that set more firmly than anything before it.

Kanten is made from red algae, sets without refrigeration, holds its shape at room temperature, and breaks with a clean edge rather than wobbling.

It is also entirely plant-based, which makes these jellies suitable for vegetarians and for anyone avoiding animal-derived gelatin.

Kinjo Seika has been making them in Toyohashi, Aichi, for decades, and this mixed jelly is the company’s long-seller.

The pieces come in an assortment of colours and fruit flavours, individually wrapped, with a bright strawberry note running through — concentrated strawberry juice is in the ingredient list, and the colours come from red cabbage, safflower, gardenia and carotenoid rather than synthetic dye.

The texture is the point of difference from a Western gummy: firmer and cleaner, with none of the chew, dissolving quickly and leaving nothing behind.

Japanese households treat these as the sweet in the bowl on the table, the one grandparents hand out and children take by the fistful.

At 175 g in a flat bag, this is the size that gets bought for a household rather than a handbag.

The shelf life runs to eight months and the jellies keep at room temperature without any of the melting problems that chocolate confectionery brings, which makes this one of the more practical Japanese sweets to send anywhere.

Kinjo Seika produces it year-round rather than seasonally.

About this item
Item Name : Mixed Jelly
Brand : Kinjo Seika
Item Form : Jelly
Number of Items : 175 (Pack of 1)