Mountain Mushrooms
They're a little addictive ... it's a little too easy to pop another one or two or more into your mouth without realizing what you've done. Come to think of it, maybe they're actually quite addictive!
Meiji, the manufacturer of Kinoko ("mountain" in Japanese) No Yama ("mushroom" in Japanese), suggests that they may have several uses besides snacking, including decorating cakes and cupcakes. Truthfully, we wonder who could resist devouring the contents of the entire box long before the dessert is ready for garnishing.
We're pretty much latecomers to the delights of these little mushroom treats, having only tried them a month or so ago, even though they've long been a favorite of Japanese children. We immediately fell in love with the precious little chocolate mushrooms caps and their sweet, crispy cracker mushroom stem.
But, wait. There's more than just the plain milk chocolate version; they come in several flavors. There's a chocolate banana version, roasted chestnut and milk chocolate, strawberry with condensed milk and chocolate, with more tasty flavors on the drawing board. Rumor has it that the manufacturer is known to introduce 2-3 flavors a year. Hum, wonder if they need a taster or two for the lab!
This little box holds a delicious surprise!
And, we have to wonder if it's really necessary to pack them in their own foil package, when, in reality, we're convinced that there will be few, if any, to store for future occasions. Bet you can't eat just one!
Where to find Kinoko No Yama? Obviously, your friendly Asian market is a good place to start, although when we searched Portland markets several weeks ago, we found Uyajimaya to be the only purveyor that we encountered. Of course, they are available online from a number of retailers, including Amazon. At $5 for just over 3 ounces, they don't feel like a bargain, but you'd be hard pressed to forage and find more delicious mushrooms at this time of year!
Now, a word of caution for all you mushroom aficionados: don't be confused by their cousin, Takenoko No Sato Chocolate, and pick up a box of the bamboo shoot tip shaped biscuits. Needless to say, they're tasty, too, but they're not mushrooms!
Where did they all go ... can there really be only 4 left?