Japanese food makers develop products to save time in the kitchen
A Dentsu survey found 64% considered cooking troublesome, while new seasonings, pasta with sauce and paper packaging aim to ease kitchen work.
- Japanese food makers are introducing products like pre-seasoning pouches for meat ("Main Dip") to reduce preparation time.
- New packaging innovations, such as containers that turn into a microwaveable tray ("Rakuraku Otsumami"), are designed to simplify cooking and reduce cleanup.
- The development of these products is driven by the growing importance of "time performance" (taipa) and survey data showing more people cook at home for cost reasons despite finding it troublesome.
A pouch for freezing meat with seasoning and packaging that turns into a tray in the microwave are among the products Japanese food makers have introduced to reduce kitchen work.
With “Main Dip”, meat is mixed with seasoning before the pouch goes into the freezer for storage.
Otsuka Foods Co., Ltd., based in Osaka in western Japan, has launched the product in five flavours, including ginger and honey mustard.
Quicker decisions about what to cook and less preparation time are the expected benefits.
“We made part of the pouch transparent so users can easily see how well the ingredients are marinated,” Otsuka Foods’ Taku Kakuwa said, adding: “Its size fits easily in a freezer.”
A pasta product that comes with its sauce can be stored at room temperature to save freezer space.
Nisshin Seifun Welna Inc. launched it in August.
For “Rakuraku Otsumami”, the packaging becomes a tray-like container during microwave heating.
Launched by major meat processor Starzen Co., Ltd., the seaweed-wrapped chicken product uses the “Itadaki” paper tray developed by TOPPAN Inc.
The product uses less plastic and reduces the work involved in clearing up.
Making efficient use of time is increasingly important in Japan, where the term “taipa” is short for “time performance”.
The seasonings and partly cooked foods being developed are intended to simplify preparation and reduce the time spent clearing up.
Dentsu Inc., a major advertising firm, found in a survey last year that 64% of respondents considered cooking troublesome, compared with 53% in its 2022 survey.
Yet eating out had become less frequent, and the number of people cooking at least once a week had increased.
“An increasing number of people choose to cook at home after weighing (the burden of) house chores against costs,” a Dentsu official who worked on the survey said.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
