Canned Anmitsu Dessert from Nihonbashi Eitaro Honpo

This year, the cherry trees came into bloom earlier than every year because of warmer temperatures, so the summer will also come sooner. 

For that reason, as early as today, I picked up a traditional Japanese Wagashi sweet that represents Japan’s summer season for this blog article called Anmitsu (あんみつ).

Anmitsu (あんみつ)

Anmitsu is a dessert dressed with Mitsu (蜜), a black or white molasse syrup, accompanying bite-size fruits, translucent agar jelly cubes, An (餡) sweet red bean paste, and Shiratama Dango dumplings.

In Japan, you can enjoy the dessert at tea houses or sweet parlors during the summertime, and you can also get it in cans all year round at supermarkets and department stores.

Nihonbashi Eitaro Honpo’s Anmitsu Can

When it comes to canned Anmitsu, the one from Nihonbashi Eitaro Honpo (日本橋榮太棲本舗) is among the best-recognized. Eitaro Honpo is a long-established Wagashi shop founded in 1818 in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, which first introduced the Anmitsu can in 1978.

Contents & Shelf life 

The box contains these three things; a small Anmitsu steel can, Kuro-Mitsu (黒みつ: black syrup), and Koshi-An (こしあん) packets. As you can see in the picture below, this canned dessert has a long shelf life, kept for over a year.

How to Prepare

Therefore, this one, which cost me about 350 yen, can be a nice souvenir or gift for you. For those curious, here, I will share how to prepare it.

1		First, lift the pull tab of the can to a 90-degree angle and pour away the syrup inside.
2		Then, remove the lid and transfer the Anmitsu inside into a shallow bowl.
3		Dress the Anmitsu ingredients with the Kuro-Mitsu black syrup.
4		And put the Koshi-An paste onto the ingredients.
5		Now it’s ready to eat! Enjoy with a spoon or fork!

Ingredients & Taste

The main ingredients in the Anmitsu are yellow & white peaches, pineapple, orange, sugars (Johakuto, granulated sugar), boiled red peas, and Kanten (agar) jelly cubes.

The Kuro-Mitsu consists of granulated sugar, Okinawa’s Kokuto brown raw sugar, jaggery, and starch syrup.

As for the taste, the Kanten jelly is almost tasteless, but it is fresh and well-balanced with other sweet ingredients.