A label on bread I bought at the FamilyMart on Palaceside Building's first floor caught my eye.
"Croissant Sandwich (whipped cream with Ibaraki Andes melon)."In red with white lettering:"Developed at Yamazaki Baking Koga Factory" it also says.
What caught my attention — Ibaraki. As a former resident (only two years, but still), I could not ignore it.
According to FamilyMart's website, it launched June 4 as a Kanto-region limited item (Tokyo plus six prefectures, plus Yamanashi, Nagano, and eastern Shizuoka): "Productized from ideas by factory workers. A soft croissant sandwich filled with whipped cream containing juice from Ibaraki Andes melons."
Tasting it, a moderate melon aroma and lightly sweet, fruity melon cream harmonize with the croissant dough. Decent texture — at 105 yen it feels like good value.
Mention melon and many think only of Yubari — but Ministry of Agriculture statistics (2011 crop) rank production: 1) Ibaraki 43,200 t, 2) Kumamoto 28,200 t, 3) Hokkaido 27,900 t, 4) Yamagata 1,300 t, 5) Aomori 11,000 t. Ibaraki holds about 24% share — a runaway No. 1.
Leading Ibaraki melon areas include Hokota, Ibaraki Town, and Kashima. "Asahi Village" was famous but merged into Hokota. Good melons need well-drained soil and large day-night temperature swings. Cities like Hokota face Kashima Bay and stay warm year-round with daily tempera
ture gaps; soil is well-drained volcanic ash — ideal melon land.
Local products are common, but a quick search turned up quite a few Ibaraki melon breads. From the top of the photo at right, for reference:
Chewy-texture omelet (melon jam & whipped cream) using Ibaraki Andes melon jam (Yamazaki) = on sale
Melon cream & whipped bread using Ibaraki Andes melon cre
am (Lawson) = on sale
Melon cream series using Ibaraki Andes melons (Lunch Pack, whipped bread, shirochigi — three types, Yamazaki) = August 2012
Otome melon melon bread (Seven-Eleven Ibaraki/Tochigi stores only) = 2010
Ibaraki Andes melon cream coppe bread= August 2009
(Sorry — I am not sure which of the above are currently on sale
.)
So they keep coming back every year with new twists, different products, different convenience stores... Do not look so unimpressed. If it tastes good, that is what matters. Above all, as a former resident, I am happy to see Ibaraki specialties productized.
