Sustainability– category –

Kiriboshi daikon (dried shredded radish) is essential to simmered dishes. In fact, you can make it easily at home simply by cutting and drying daikon. Homemade versions have a richer sweetness and no additives to worry about. Still, many people hesitate over problems like "it won't dry properly," "I'm worried about mold," or "I don't know how to rehydrate or store it." In this article, we explain...

Mandarins are plentiful in winter. If you have some left over that you can't finish, turning them into dried mandarin is a great option. Drying concentrates the sweetness, and if you make them whole with the peel, the cross-section is as beautiful as a flower, adding a lovely touch to tea or yogurt. They turn out plenty sweet even without added sugar...

Shikuwasa is a citrus that represents Okinawa. With its sharp acidity, gently bitter peel, and refreshing aroma, it has many uses beyond simply squeezing it over food, extending to drinks, seasonings, and as an accent in cooking. That said, quite a few people find themselves unsure, wondering "the juice ends up left over" or "how do I use the peel?"...

Dried persimmon is a seasonal tradition from autumn into winter. The way astringent persimmons are reborn sweet through sun and wind can be recreated at home. Still, failures like "mold appeared" or "it didn't turn out sweet" are common, and mastering a few tips is what separates success from failure. In this article, we cover dried persimmon...

Dried mango is popular for its rich sweetness and tropical aroma. It's delicious on its own, but knowing different ways to eat it—rehydrating it in yogurt or mixing it into sweets and drinks—greatly expands the enjoyment. On the other hand, some find it "too sweet" or "too hard," which comes down to choosing the right type...

Kiwi is prized for its vivid green and sweet-tart flavor. Drying it mellows the tartness and concentrates the sweetness, making a snack distinctly different from the fresh fruit. The tiny popping texture of the seeds remains too, making it a perfect accent for granola or yogurt. In this article, we cover...

Bananas are too ripe to finish, or you want additive-free fruit for your child's snack—that's when dried banana comes in handy. The appeal of the homemade version is that you can concentrate the sweetness of ripe bananas as-is, without sugar or oil. Still, some run into issues like "it's sticky and not fully dried" or "it turned brown"...

KOMPEITO installed the salad vending machine "SALAD STAND," which changes prices with AI, at JR Kyobashi Station on May 13. It calculates the optimal price from foot traffic and expiration dates, implementing food-loss reduction inside the station.

System developer Nihon Knowledge Space was newly certified as a MAFF "Outstanding Food Education Practice Corporation 2026" for initiatives such as providing the off-spec vegetable delivery service "LossHeru" to all employees at company expense. It joined the list as one of the 333 companies in the first year.

Two upcycled beverages using fully ripe sudachi grown in Tokushima Prefecture were commercialized by Fuji and Mitsubishi Foods. As a rescue of citrus that wasn't shipped while green and was discarded after ripening yellow, it becomes the prefecture's 8th upcycling case.

"Yuri," a student group at Tottori University, spent two years commercializing cookies made from pear leaves. Focusing on abandoned pear orchards that no longer bear fruit, they make use of pesticide-free leaves—we introduce this initiative from Tottori, the home of pears.

"Blue blossom," a snack brand upcycling off-spec vegetables grown in Hokkaido, exhibited at the welfare event WellFes 2026. We introduce its management philosophy of "not making welfare something special" and its efforts to reduce food loss.

Seven-Eleven adopted Toyama-grown komatsuna, which tends to be discarded for overgrowing, in its "Red Salmon Barley-Rice Onigiri." We explain this food-loss-reduction effort, sold at about 340 Hokuriku stores from June 2, in partnership with JA Zen-Noh Toyama.

KOMPEITO teamed with JA Zen-Noh Kanagawa to process Miura-grown watermelon that can't reach the market due to blemishes or shape into konjac jelly. It began an effort to deliver it to over 25,000 offices nationwide via the placed-type health cafeteria "Office de Yasai."

When people hear "yakuzen ingredients," many may picture imported dried goods bought at a Chinese-ingredient store, such as jujube and goji berries. Yet many yakuzen ingredients can in fact be assembled from familiar domestically grown vegetables and dried goods. The image that "you cannot start without ordering something special" is...

Have you ever thought, "Yakuzen and Kampo seem similar, but where do they differ?" Because both are rooted in Eastern medicine, they're easily confused, yet they are distinct things with clearly different roles. On this page, we organize the difference between yakuzen and Kampo through the lens of "food" and "medicine"...

Many people feel that "yakuzen seems good for you, but doesn't it require special ingredients or crude drugs?" In fact, yakuzen is a style of eating based on the ideas of Eastern medicine that you can start with everyday vegetables from the supermarket. On this page, we explain what yakuzen is...

Do you ever find yourself unsure how to use sansho beyond eel, or wondering "what dishes go with green sansho or kinome?" Sansho suits different dishes depending on its form—powder, berry, or leaf—and once you know how to use it, you can bring its refreshing aroma to everything from Japanese cuisine to meat and fish dishes and pasta. On this page...

The source of the tongue-numbing kick in mapo tofu and dan dan noodles is huajiao. It looks a lot like Japanese sansho, so many people wonder "are sansho and huajiao the same?" or "can I substitute one for the other?" In fact, while they're in the same family, their aroma, numbing tingle, and culinary role differ greatly...

Fresh green sansho, which appears in early summer, is prized for its tingly numbness and refreshing aroma. But once you buy it, prepping comes first, and many people are unsure—"what do I do with the stems?", "how long do I boil it to remove the bitterness?", "how do I store it so it keeps for a year?" On this page, we cover prepping green sansho...

Sansho is essential to eel, mapo tofu, and chirimen sansho. But even under the single name "sansho," it comes in various forms—green sansho, powdered sansho, and kinome—and people often wonder "what's the difference between green sansho and powdered sansho?" or "is it different from huajiao?" It's a spice that represents Japan, defined by its aroma and numbing tingle...

Ichimi togarashi, sprinkled over udon and soups. When it comes time to choose, people often wonder "what's the difference between ichimi and shichimi?" and "which should I use?" They look and are used similarly, but there's a clear difference in their ingredients and roles. On this page, we cover what ichimi togarashi is...

Dried chili, made by drying red chili peppers, keeps well and lets you enjoy heat and aroma year-round. But when you actually go to handle it, questions often come up—"how do I make it at home?", "do I rehydrate it before use?", "how long does it keep?" On this page, we cover dried chili...

Takanotsume, habanero, shishito, Manganji togarashi. Even under the single name "chili," the lineup is very wide, ranging from hot to not hot at all, and people often wonder "what variety is this?" or "are takanotsume and chili the same?" On this page, we cover the types of chili—Japanese...

Kagome released nationwide a 100% juice that reproduces the taste of orange without using orange juice, as the first product of its new brand "KAGOME Beyond." We explain the details of the alternative beverage completed over about 2 years and 40 prototypes, and the background of the global orange supply crisis.

Yamanashi's KEIPE and the Kiyosato Milk Plant will release a new gelato "Noryo Jealousy," combining whey produced in cheese-making with off-spec fruit, on April 28, 2026. We summarize the background of the release and where to buy it.

22 companies led by Kagome launched an idea contest 2026 for students on March 2. Against intake of 218g for men and 210g for women in their 20s, it invites measures to close the gap to the 350g target. Realistic solutions such as keeping dried vegetables stocked in the office are also welcome.

According to the Q1 (January–March) 2026 export statistics for agriculture, forestry, and fishery products announced by Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, total exports reached 16.69 billion US dollars (up 5.9% year-on-year). It was achieved amid the headwind of a sharp drop in international prices for staple crops such as coffee and rice, and the resilience of the fisheries sector in particular...

"This tomato can't be shipped—its calyx is a bit cracked." With harvested vegetables before them, such words are exchanged among production sites not infrequently. Vegetables that fall out of distribution based solely on "shape" or "size," even though the flavor, aroma, and the effort of growing them should be the same...

青汁の原料として知られるケール。 実はこの野菜、栄養価の高さから「野菜の王様」という異名を持っています。キャベツやブロッコリーと同じアブラナ科に属し、これらの野菜の原種に位置するケールは、地中海沿岸・ギリシャ地方が原産とされ、紀元前から栽...

In today's world of rising health consciousness, more people are reexamining their daily diet. Among these, what draws particular attention is the combination of dried fruit and nuts. Both are high in nutritional value and can be stored long-term at room temperature, making them a strong ally for busy modern people. Dried fru...

You finally bought some dried fruit, and before you knew it, mold had appeared. Have you had this experience? It's easy to assume dried fruit lasts a long time because it's dried, but in fact, storing it incorrectly can cause it to deteriorate far faster than expected. Especially sugar-free or additive-free domestic...

When choosing a dried fruit assortment, have you ever been unsure where to start? Supermarkets and online shops carry countless products, varying widely in price and quality. Is it candied or additive-free, domestic or imported, and how about the packaging...

The Basic Way to Enjoy It—Eating It As-Is The simplest way to eat dried apple is to open the bag and snack on it as-is. The water has been removed and the sweetness concentrated, so you can enjoy a richer flavor than fresh apple. That said, even "as-is" varies by texture type and the timing of when you eat it...

Dried lemon is a processed food made by slicing and drying fresh lemons. Its biggest difference from fresh lemon is shelf life. Fresh lemon lasts about 2–3 weeks refrigerated at most, but dried lemon keeps about two weeks at room temperature and even longer if refrigerated or frozen. By driving off the moisture...

果物コーナーで一年を通して見かける「ふじ」は、日本でもっとも多く栽培されているりんごです。甘みと酸味のバランス、しっかりした歯ごたえ、貯蔵性の高さがそろい、贈答用から毎日のおやつまで幅広く使われています。ただ「ふじ」とひとくちに言っても...

Alongside rising health consciousness, interest in superfoods is expanding worldwide. Among them, moringa—called a "nutrient-rich tree"—is drawing attention from both its high nutritional value and sustainability. Moringa is a plant native to northwestern India, containing vitamin A, vitamin...

スーパーの果物売り場で「ふじ」や「シナノゴールド」を選ぶ感覚は、日本の食卓では当たり前の光景です。けれど世界に目を向けると、りんごの主役はまったく違う顔ぶれになります。アメリカの食卓ではガラやハニークリスプ、ヨーロッパではピンクレディー...

When you pick up a lemon at the supermarket, have you ever been unsure? About 90% of the lemons on store shelves are imported. The remaining mere 10%—domestic lemons—come into season mainly from October to March. Hiroshima Prefecture accounts for about 50% of domestic production, with cultivation thriving on the mild climate of the Seto Inland...

同じ「ふじ」でも、青森県産と長野県産では味の印象が変わります。スーパーや産直で産地表示を見比べたとき、なぜ価格も食感も違うのか不思議に感じた方も多いはずです。りんごの味は品種だけで決まるのではなく、その土地の気候・標高・昼夜の寒暖差が大...

When you buy apples, the first thing you wonder is "should I store them at room temperature or refrigerated?" To get to the point, apples last longest in the fridge's vegetable compartment (0–5°C). In the cold air of autumn and winter, they last about a month at room temperature, 1–2 months refrigerated (vegetable compartment), and up to 3 months frozen...

「一日一個のりんごは医者を遠ざける」という言い回しを耳にしたことがある人は多いはずです。りんごは古くから健康的な果物の象徴として親しまれ、毎日の食卓に取り入れやすい身近なフルーツです。ただ、実際にどれくらい食べればよいのか、1個の重さはど...

Prep Before Drying Determines the Result. Drying apples is 70% decided by the prep before applying heat. Even with the same variety and the same dehydrator, skipping the cut thickness or the small step of preventing discoloration leaves you with a sticky or brown, cloudy result that differs in finish. First, the three prep points...

When choosing green juice, do you judge by the words "good for your health" on the package alone? In fact, the effects of green juice vary greatly depending on the ingredients used. The main ingredients—kale, young barley grass, and moringa—each have their own nutritional profile and health effects...

りんご農業がいま直面している課題の全体像 食卓でおなじみのりんごですが、その栽培現場では構造的な問題がいくつも重なり合っています。担い手の減少、栽培環境の変化、収穫期に集中する人手、上がり続けるコスト。どれか一つだけが原因ではなく、複数の...

長野県がりんご栽培に適している理由 長野県は青森県と並ぶ国内有数のりんご産地として知られ、信州ブランドのりんごは全国の市場で高い評価を受けています。なぜ長野の土地がりんごづくりに向いているのか。その答えは、内陸の盆地が連なる地形と、標高の...

りんごの人気品種ランキング スーパーの棚に並ぶりんごは、いまや一年を通して何種類も顔を出します。けれど名前だけ見てもどれを選べばいいか迷う人は多いはずです。ここでは知名度と店頭での流通量、ギフトや家庭用としての定番度をもとに、よく選ばれて...

Have you ever felt that the vegetables lined up in supermarkets all look similar in shape? In fact, in the Kanto region there exist many “heirloom vegetables” handed down over many generations in that land. Miura daikon, norabo-na, Edo Tokyo vegetables, and more—each region’s climate and soil...

「レモン1個にビタミンCはどれくらい含まれている？」「レモンの効能・効果は？」と気になる方に向けて、栄養素・効能・効果的な食べ方・ドライレモン活用までを実務目線で解説します。 レモンは料理の脇役にとどまらず、ビタミンC・クエン酸・ポリフェノ...

レモンは、ミカン科ミカン属に分類される柑橘類の果実です。 その鮮やかな黄色と独特の酸味、爽やかな香りで世界中に親しまれています。原産地はインド北部とされ、日本へは明治時代に伝来しました。現在では広島県、愛媛県、和歌山県などで国産レモンが栽...