[LIMITED TIME ONLY]

Prefecture: Kanagawa 
Producer: Marui Foods
Ingredients: Sakura (cherry blossoms), plum vinegar, salt, vegetable pigment
Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free
Size: 40ml liquid seasoning; 20g salted sakura blossoms (3-4 servings)

Sakura rice, which features salt-pickled cherry blossoms with steamed rice, is a springtime delicacy in Japan. To make this salt-pickled sakura rice seasoning, sakura flowers are handpicked as buds while still young, washed, dried, and drained before being preserved with salt. The blossoms are left for one full day before being squeezed and soaked in ume (Japanese plum) vinegar, and dried in the shade. They add a beautiful light pink color to rice while providing a delicate salty yet floral flavor.

Our producer, Marui Foods, created this Sakura Rice Seasoning as a convenient way to enjoy the fragrant spring flavor of sakura using their own salt-pickled sakura. The company is run by a brother duo: one brother runs Marui Foods, a tsukemono (Japanese pickles) company which has been in business for over 120 years, while the other runs Nature to sell these products.

Suggested uses: First, thoroughly rinse the sakura blossoms with water to remove the salt. Then soak half of the blossoms in water and set aside for later. Combine the remaining half of the blossoms in a rice cooker with 2 Japanese rice-cooker-cups (1.5 US cups or 360 ml) of regular Japanese rice (or mochi rice), the liquid seasoning packet, and the usual amount of water required by your rice cooker. Cook as usual. Once the rice is cooked, mix in the soaked sakura blossoms after thoroughly squeezing out the water. Enjoy as a hot bowl of rice, packed in a bento, or shaped into onigiri (rice balls) to be enjoyed in a picnic under sakura trees.