Even if you don’t enjoy sushi, it’s difficult to deny how artistic it looks. It’s the presentation that makes sushi ‘sushi’, whether it’s a beautiful maki roll or a nigiri with the main ingredient on full display. This very interesting kit from Japan allows one to make a sort of gelatin candy which emulates the iconic appearance of sushi. If you think it sounds weird, you’re probably right, but when you check out the video you’ll also see that it’s absolutely incredible.
Children have enjoyed playing with food for some time, and some toys have even centered around creating it such as the Easy Bake Oven or the more obscure, boy-targeted Doctor Dreadful Freaky Food Lab. The latter is what this kit more resembles, where mixing powders and liquids results in a very edible creation with a specific appearance and texture. The first mixture results in a clumpy white mass which has the instantly recognizable appearance of rice. The next two are yellow and red rectangles which don’t look like much more than, well, gooey yellow and red rectangles. However, after forming a small ball of rice, the guy in the video scoops out half of the red mixture, showing that the underside (now presented topside) created a textured pattern on the gelatin, making the red stuff look like ahi tuna. And if that weren’t enough, a strip of stretchy, soft candy is rolled out to wrap around this nigiri like a strip of nori seaweed.
The same is done with a strip of the yellowish gelatin; I’m not enough of a sushi expert to identify what it’s supposed to be, but I would imagine it represents some sort of whitefish. Lastly, two liquids are formed in the remaining portions of the plastic tray, one clear and one orange-red. It’s difficult to realize what’s being made until an eyedropper sucks up some of the orange-red and squeezes it out, drop by drop, into the liquid. The reddish liquid forms into small spheres, suspended within the clear liquid, clearly meant to mimic the appearance of roe. When a tiny strainer is used to scoop out the balls, they clump together, looking very much like the real thing. Once they’re topped onto the already-wrapped maki roll, it looks undeniably like actual salmon roe sushi.
All plated up, these candy creations are just as pretty as the real thing. Yes, they look like a lot of work for a small amount of food, but that’s not the point. It’s more toy than food, with the act of creating it similar to putting together a model car or folding a papercraft creation like this Mario Papercraft Diorama. Even better, though, with this sushi kit you get to eat the end product, which has to be tastier than paper or airplane glue. For other wonderfully geeky food art, check out these Geeky Ice Cube Trays and the awesome Edible Gummy LEGO Bricks.
Thanks to Oded for the tip.
