Dean & DeLuca may have closed their stores in the U.S. (save for a few remaining independently owned franchise branches), but the upscale grocer is still going strong in Japan. Like any good expat that really finds their stride after making the move overseas, Dean & DeLuca Japan adapts to the local culture with some unique offerings specially designed to dazzle the Japanese palate, and this month they’re rolling out the chain’s very first sakura-flavor dessert drink.
Even before they announced the sakura drink, sweets fans were already licking their lips in anticipation of the return of Dean & DeLuca’s shiruko. Also called oshiruko, shiruko is a sort of sweet bean jam porridge, and it’s especially tasty when served hot, making it an evergreen favorite among sweets fans in Japan during the winter. Whether it’s eaten from a bowl with a spoon, or sipped from a cup, shiruko quickly warms the body and heart with its cozy comfort-food deliciousness.
Dean & DeLuca serves shiruko as a seasonal drink every New Year’s, and this year they’re bringing back their matcha shiruko, made with green tea grown in Uji, the Kyoto Prefecture town famed for producing the best matcha in all of Japan.
Joining it is the sakura shiruko, which like its green tea menu-mate includes shiratama (mochi dumplings), which become thoroughly soaked in the sweetness of the drink. Dean & Deluca says that this year’s shiruko uses more sweet bean paste than last year’s, for an even richer flavor.
Since both the drinks also include milk, you could make the argument that these are both shiruko lattes, but that doesn’t make them sound any less irresistible. As for cherry blossom desserts in winter, the flavor of sakura sweets, a salty sweetness with a tiny herbal touch, most commonly comes from using salt-preserved cherry blossom tree leaves, which grow from late spring through to the fall, so the freshness of the ingredients should be just fine.
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for something less sweet to sip on that’s still very indulgent, Dean & DeLuca is also getting set to start serving its Yuzu Ginger Apple again, made in-store by simmering apples, ginger, and yuzu (a kind of Japanese citrus fruit). Combining the taste of yuzu, which is sharper than an orange but sweeter than a lemon or lime, with the spiciness of ginger and sweet/sour notes of apple should make for a complex yet soothing flavor profile, and the Yuzu Ginger Apple is available both hot and iced.
Both shiruko flavors are priced at 670 yen and the Yuzu Ginger Apple at 562 yen for a small or 637 for a medium. All three will be available until January 15.
Source, images: PR Times
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