Matsunaga Shiruko Sand Biscuits Sakura

Shiruko Sand Sakura is the spring edition, released each February to mark a season that in Japan begins before the flowers do.

Cherry blossom as a flavour is not what the trees smell like — the aroma comes from sakura leaves salted and pickled, which develop a sweet, hay-like fragrance called coumarin, and the salt that comes with them.

Japanese confectioners have used this since the Edo period, most famously in sakuramochi, where a pickled leaf is wrapped around a pink rice cake with bean paste inside.

That makes it an unusually natural fit for Shiruko Sand, which already pairs azuki bean paste with a salted biscuit.

Matsunaga Seika’s founder reduced the sweetness of the original deliberately — his stated wish was that people should be able to eat their fill — and the salt in the dough is part of the design rather than a seasoning afterthought.

Sakura slots into that structure rather than sitting on top of it.

Matsunaga Seika has been making Shiruko Sand in Komaki, Aichi, since 1966, and it is a genuine regional institution: in Aichi the product is in every supermarket, and the company now runs a factory shop devoted to it.

The seasonal flavours rotate through the year — strawberry and yuzu in winter, sakura and matcha in spring.

This one is a limited edition at 55 g, with a 180-day shelf life.

About this item
Item Name : Shiruko Sando Sakura
Brand : Matsunaga Seika
Item Form : Biscuit
Allergens: Milk, wheat, apple, soybean
Number of Items : 55g (Pack of 1)