A comparison of mizuyokan from four areas in Fukui Prefecture

  • Fukui
  • Souvenirs
Mizuyokan is a typical winter delicacy in Fukui. Generally speaking, mizuyokan has a strong image as a cool summer confectionery due to its slippery texture, but in Fukui Prefecture, mizuyokan is eaten in winter. It is also called "dechi yokan," and is sold at wagashi shops throughout the prefecture. In this article, we would like to compare mizuyokan from four of them and report on the differences.

Four stores offer five kinds of mizuyokan

This time, we will compare mizuyokan from four stores: Egawa (Fukui City), Ono City, Okuekkaan Yamanouchi, Wakasa Town, Kikusuido, and Katsuyama City, Kanzando. First, a brief overview of each shop♪
Egawa's mizuyokan. It is a specialty store of mizuyokan that is well-known to all residents of Fukui Prefecture. It is characterized by its fine koshi-an (sweet bean paste) and brown sugar from Okinawa, which gives it a flavor you will never get tired of. This time, two types of mizuyokan were prepared: regular mizuyokan and mizuyokan with azuki beans.
The second store was "Oketsu Kaan Yamauchi" in Ono City, offering Dechi Yokan. Ono is known as the home of the 100 best water sources, with water gushing out all over the town. This particular product is made using the delicious water of Echizen Ono.
The third store is Dechi Yokan at Wagashidokoro Kikusuido in Wakasa Town. They use only homemade red bean paste made from high quality azuki beans produced in Hokkaido and Kamishiro Sugar to create a smooth taste. The water used is also carefully selected, and is made from the famous water of "Uriwari-no-taki Waterfall," selected as one of the 100 best waters.
The fourth store is "Kanzan-do" water-yokan in Katsuyama City, found at "Honey Shokusaikan Yotsui Store," a local supermarket in Fukui Prefecture. In winter, supermarkets in the prefecture are lined with mizuyokan from various stores. It is convenient to buy mizuyokan from different stores at once.

10 men and women in their 20's to 50's compared their tastes

In order to collect more objective data, we gathered monitors of all ages to compare five kinds of mizuyokan from four different stores and asked them to rate the "sweetness" and "thirstiness" of the products.
Due to the different types of sugar used, the texture and flavor differed considerably among the stores. This is a new discovery. Before comparing them, I wondered if there was that much of a difference. I wondered if there was that much of a difference. Many people thought that Egawa's mizuyokan was "smooth and refreshingly sweet," while many people thought that Kansando's mizuyokan was "firm and sweet with a good brown sugar flavor. Because Kanzando's mizuyokan also contained coffee, even those who are not so fond of red bean paste said, "It has a Western flavor. Delicious!" They were surprised.

The results are interesting...

The mizuyokan from the best stores were hard to choose one over the other.... We had to make a hard decision and choose one store as "my favorite". The one that received the most votes was Egawa's mizuyokan (with grains)!

A winter tradition

How was it? In winter, almost all Japanese confectionery shops in the prefecture sell this "mizuyokan". This time, we compared mizuyokan at only four stores, but the world of mizuyokan is still very deep. It would be nice to enjoy buying one from a different store every year... Why don't you try to find your favorite mizuyokan when you visit Fukui Prefecture?
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