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Unagi Pie (うなぎパイ) is a beloved Japanese candy pastry crammed with a candy and savory concoction. This deal with gained recognition as a memento and cherished for its distinctive mix of flavors and crispy texture. On this article, we’ll discover the origins, elements, and cultural significance of Unagi Pie in Japan.
TOC
What’s Unagi pie?
Unagi pie or eel pie is a particular deal with from Shunkado Ltd., well-known in Hamamatsu Metropolis, Shizuoka Prefecture. To make it, they combine eel extract into pie dough, bake it, and high it with a sauce like kabayaki. The one elements for the dough are wheat, butter, water, and eel extract powder. Gifted employees make the dough. They regulate it rigorously for temperature and humidity. Every individual kneads about 3.6 tons per day. They’re rolled out thinly and sprinkled with sugar, layering them as much as about 9,000 layers, creating a novel crispy texture. They’ve mechanized the baking course of, however they’ve saved the process the identical. The manufacturing unit slowly baked it for 10 minutes at a temperature of about 300 levels, and on the finish, they brushed it with a secret sauce, identical to kabayaki.
Regardless of its title, Unagi Pie doesn’t truly include eel (unagi). As an alternative, it’s a kind of pastry crammed with a candy and savory filling. The title “Unagi Pie” is a intelligent play on phrases, as “unagi” means eel in Japanese, however on this case, it refers back to the pie’s form reasonably than its elements. Shunkado holds the trademark for it. In a latest survey by the 2022 Netorabo Analysis Group, this eel pie earned the fifth spot within the rating of native sweets that folks would like to obtain as souvenirs.
Unagi pie Historical past
In 1961, the second president of Shunkado, Koichi Yamazaki, had a intelligent thought. He needed to create a particular pastry known as Unagi Pie. To make it distinctive, he determined to mix Western confectionery with eel. Hamamatsu’s connection to Lake Hamana and eel manufacturing is cleverly represented on this wordplay. After it was made, the pastry grew to become extremely popular. Gross sales went from 600,000 models in 1962 to 7 million in 1965. By 1966, annual gross sales exceeded 10 million models, resulting in the institution of a separate firm, Unagi Pie Honpo Co., Ltd., devoted solely to manufacturing these tasty treats. Unagi Pie has confronted difficulties, like the top of mail-order gross sales in 2008 and a manufacturing pause in 2020 resulting from COVID-19. Nonetheless, it stays a beloved deal with with an extended historical past.
Regardless of its recognition, Unagi Pie encountered gross sales challenges at JR Nagoya Station. In April 2016, the producer, Shunkado, reluctantly began discontinuing the product. After changing into a subject of dialogue on social media, gross sales resumed at kiosks in Nagoya Station on September 16, 2016. The journey had good instances and unhealthy instances. In 2020, manufacturing stopped as a result of fewer folks needed the product. In 2021, there have been extra challenges due to one other emergency. Regardless of these hurdles, Unagi Pie stands as a testomony to innovation and native satisfaction in Hamamatsu Metropolis.
What’s the relationship between eel and pie?
If you happen to’ve by no means had eel pie, you may marvel, “Wait, does it style like eel?” For eel pie, extract from eel, a specialty of Lake Hamana, is kneaded into the pie dough. Nonetheless, it doesn’t style like eel in any respect. The primary purpose it’s known as eel pie shouldn’t be its style, however the technique of coating it with sauce and baking it like kabayaki.
What’s the secret ingredient in unagi pie?
It has a small quantity of garlic in it. Concerning garlic, the artisans have been apprehensive that the “eel pie” in its prototype stage lacked depth of taste. President Koichi considered utilizing a little bit garlic, impressed by the then-popular gyoza. When he recommended this and used it to do away with the fishy odor, it turned out to have a deep, addictive style like that eel pie.
What does eel pie evening snack imply?
Throughout household gatherings, folks are supposed to get pleasure from nighttime sweets. Koichi Yamazaki, the second president, gave the title. In 1962, when eel pie was born, Japan was amid speedy financial development. Throughout that point, ladies started working outdoors the house and kids began attending faculty and cram faculty. It appeared that everybody was spending much less time at dwelling. Throughout this time, dinner at evening was a cherished time for households to collect collectively. “Evening Sweets” was named as a result of we needed folks to have a enjoyable time surrounded by “eel pie” throughout such moments. Nonetheless, evidently many individuals purchase it with a unique interpretation.
Unagi pie FAQ
- Does Unagi Pie style like an precise eel?
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Whereas the flavors of grilled eel encourage Unagi Pie, it tastes completely different from eel. The candy pie crust and savory filling create a novel, fulfilling style that captures unagi’s essence with out being too fishy. It has a nice style that mixes sweetness and umami, making it a novel deal with.
- Can you discover Unagi Pie outdoors of Japan?
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Whereas Unagi Pie is primarily accessible in Japan, its recognition has led to restricted availability in some worldwide markets and specialty shops that carry Japanese snacks. Nonetheless, it stays extra generally present in Japan, making it a sought-after deal with for these touring there.
How do they make Unagi pie at manufacturing unit?
STEP
Elements and Dough Preparation
The preliminary steps within the Unagi Pie manufacturing course of start with an in depth checklist of elements—butter, wheat flour, and eel powder. The dough for every pie is meticulously handmade, emphasizing craftsmanship. The preparation course of, together with a craftsman kneading the dough, is seen upon opening the manufacturing unit door.
STEP
Baking the Dough Strip
Behind the door, a conveyor belt system carries an extended strip of dough via an oven. The dough undergoes baking, and temperature changes are made day by day to accommodate variations in temperature and humidity. This course of ensures the dough’s transformation into the distinct form of an eel pie.
Software of Secret Sauce
The freshly baked eel pies emerge from the oven and transfer to the subsequent stage the place a brush vigorously spreads a secret sauce over their golden-brown surfaces. This distinctive sauce, identified to solely a choose few within the manufacturing unit, provides a particular taste to the Unagi Pies. A video illustrates the automated brush utility of the key sauce.
High quality Verify
After saucing, the eel pies proceed via a glass case, the place employees examine every pie for cracks or misshapen varieties. The inspection ensures that solely well-shaped pies transfer ahead within the manufacturing course of.
Remaining Form Inspection
Because the eel pies movement to the employees, one other step includes checking every pie towards a case with an extended, slim gap to confirm that it conforms to the desired form. A number of employees have interaction on this course of to ensure that solely completely formed Unagi Pies are accredited on the market. The meticulous consideration to element in every step underscores the dedication to delivering high-quality merchandise from the manufacturing unit.
The place to purchase Unagi pie?
Unagi Pie Manufacturing facility (うなぎパイファクトリー)
“Unagi Pie Manufacturing facility”, which can rejoice its tenth anniversary this yr, is predicated on the need to revitalize the native space and the idea that “we wish to make folks blissful via sweets”, which now we have cherished since our founding. The pie dough is kneaded with rigorously chosen elements, blended with eel extract, baked, and completed with a secret sauce.
Remaining Ideas
Every step, from making the dough to including the key sauce, reveals a dedication to high quality and talent. The particular combination of candy and savory flavors captures the grilled eel’s essence with out having it. After we discover how Unagi Pies are made, we uncover that scrumptious meals typically have attention-grabbing histories. So, the subsequent time you savor a Unagi Pie, let it’s a second to relish not simply the flavour however the cultural and artisanal heritage that goes into making this pleasant deal with.
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