Anpan is a Japanese sweet bun made with sakedane yeast rice and filled with sweet pastes or jams. It was introduced in the 1870s by Kimura Yasubei and his son, who opened a bakery in Tokyo. Anpan became popular and is still offered by the original bakery, with new varieties of fillings available.
An anpan is a type of Japanese sweet bun or roll. Bread is not a traditional part of Japanese cuisine and anpan is one of the few breads that originated in that country; the word “anpan” refers to both the type of bread and a single bun. The buns are soft and somewhat sweet and filled with any of a variety of sweet pastes or jams. Anpan is made with a kind of rice yeast called sakedane, which is also used to make sake, a popular mildly alcoholic drink in Japan. Bread was virtually unknown in Japan until the introduction of anpan in the 1870s.
At the end of the 1800s the Japanese people were very interested in learning about and adopting goods and foods from other countries. Around 1870, Kimura Yasubei and his son, living in Tokyo, opened a bakery to offer the Japanese a new food product: bread. Their first product was a dense loaf of bread like those eaten in much of Europe at the time, but, when this proved unpopular, they developed a new offering much more like a snack or dessert than a traditional European bread. Making breads with sakedane yeast rice gave them a unique flavor and aroma, delicately but noticeably different from breads made with ordinary baker’s yeast.
The buns were filled with an, a red paste made from adzuki beans that is widely used in Japanese sweet dishes, and had poppy seeds or white sesame seeds sprinkled on top. When the bakery owners were asked to make their rolls for the Emperor, they garnished them with sakura, savory cherry blossoms and this became another flavor option. For much of the late 1800s, Anpan was hugely popular.
Although interest in Anpan died down slightly in the 1900s, they continued to be offered by the original bakery, Kimuraya. In the mid-1970s, a series of children’s books featuring “An Pan Man” as the hero was launched, and popular books sparked a revival of interest in Anpan. Other bakeries and companies began making them, and new varieties of fillings became available. Popular fillings now include the original red bean paste, red bean paste with sakura on top, sweet chestnut paste, green pea paste, white bean paste, and a green tea flavored filling. Other options include fruit jams, especially strawberry, cream cheese, custard, apple, and pumpkin.
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