It's jelly time

I have never met more jelly obsessed people than Japanese people.  When I say jelly, I don't mean the stuff you spread on toast.  I mean jelled foods and gelatin (commonly referred to as Jello).  It is a favorite texture across the board.  I'm not talking about grandma's jello salad here (and never aspics, only the sweet stuff).  This obsession is more basic and also more unique than that.

I see children consuming large amounts of little packages of jellies pretty much every day.  Parents buy little "jello shots" by the bag full in supermarkets, convenience stores, and other shops.  It is just a small mouthful of jelly in a small plastic container.  Larger cups with fruit suspended in the jelly are also common in stores.  However, I don't see these consumed nearly as often as the little sugar shots.  The little ones seem to be a staple item in the diet. 

But it isn't just limited to children.  Adults also indulge in jellies, but usually in bigger containers.  Coffee flavored jelly is a popular dessert!  I personally am a bit grossed out by it, but it is so popular it can be found in restaurants, grocery stores, and convenience stores.  I'm surprised this flavor hasn't caught on in our coffee obsessed Seattle.

Adult flavors are not limited to coffee.  I've seen a variety of soda flavored jelly.  The melon soda flavored jelly was especially eye catching with its bright green color. 

My husband likes to eat milk jelly, made from cow's milk and agar (a gelatin-like substance made from red algae).  It is often mixed with canned fruit.  Sometimes it looks more like fruit salad, where the agar is cut into cubes and mixed with the fruit.  Other times it is mixed with the fruit prior to cooling.  This variety is the closest to that famous grandma jello salad we all remember, but with milk!

Small treats are often given to guests with a cup of tea when visiting someone's house.  Usually it is a rice cracker or anko (sweet red bean paste) confection, but sometimes it is a small jelly candy.  The candy can be dusted in granulated sugar or hidden inside a wafer shell.

I honestly don't get it.  But my son is so envious of all the jelly consumption.  He begs for jellies more than chocolate or any other treat.  For his birthday I indulged him and we brought a variety of jellies to the park to share with his friends.  They were all elated.  I, however, had guilt about all the plastic waste for days.