Sanuki Wasanbon Sugar from Higashikagawa, Kagawa
$25.00
Sale price
$25.00
Regular price
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Sanuki Wasanbon Sugar from Higashikagawa, Kagawa
$25.00
Sale price
$25.00
Regular price
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A fine, soft Japanese sugar, made by hand in Kagawa from sugarcane the family grows themselves.
Wasanbon is the sugar used in many traditional Japanese sweets. The grains are very fine, and the sweetness is gentle, so it sits quietly in coffee, on fruit, or in a vinegar dressing. Mitani Sugar has made it in Higashikagawa, on the island of Shikoku, since 1804.
Highlights
- Made by hand: the raw sugar is kneaded over five days and pressed in wooden boxes to draw out the molasses, then kneaded and pressed again.
- One ingredient: shiroshita-to, a raw cane sugar made in Kagawa.
- Use it as you would ordinary sugar — in drinks, dressings, baking and sweets.
- Shipped directly from the producer in Higashikagawa, Kagawa — not from a US warehouse.
Details, ingredients & allergens
- Common Product Name: Sanuki wasanbon sugar (讃岐和三盆糖)
- Net Weight: 260g (9.2 oz)
- Ingredients: Raw cane sugar (shiroshita-to), made in Kagawa, Japan
- Shelf life: About 10 months (unopened) — the exact date is printed on the package.
- Storage: Keep it sealed, away from heat and humidity. Do not store it in the refrigerator. Wasanbon clumps easily in damp air, but the taste and aroma do not change — simply break up any lumps. It also picks up nearby smells, so keep it closed.
- Packaging: Resealable bag. (Packaging is in Japanese.)
- Producer Name: Mitani Sugar Hane Sanuki Honpo Co., Ltd. (有限会社三谷製糖羽根さぬき本舗), Higashikagawa, Kagawa
- Origin: Higashikagawa, Kagawa
Producer’s story
Mitani Sugar was founded in 1804 in Higashikagawa, Kagawa. At the time, Sanuki wasanbon was controlled by the Takamatsu domain and presented as an offering to the domain’s rulers, and the method was kept secret.
The family still grows the sugarcane variety it has used since the beginning, so the size of each year’s harvest decides how much wasanbon they can make. The raw sugar is kneaded — once over three days, now over five — to make the crystals finer, then packed into wooden pressing boxes, where natural yeasts work while the molasses slowly drains away. Kneading and pressing are repeated until only a clean sweetness is left. The pressing boxes date back to the company’s founding and have been repaired again and again. The tools used to make this wasanbon have been designated as cultural property, and the sugar is left to dry naturally, which the family says keeps its particular flavor.
The eighth-generation head of the family puts it simply: unless something is good, it will not make the customer happy.
Cooking ideas
Sprinkle it over warm mochi, buttered toast or a bowl of strawberries; on grapefruit, it sits nicely against the sour. Stir a spoonful into coffee or black tea — it sweetens without hiding the bitterness. In a vinegar dressing such as sunomono, or in the seasoning for sushi rice, it softens the edge of the vinegar. For baking and everyday cooking, use it just as you would ordinary sugar.
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