''Midono Dainagon Zenzai,'' which uses azuki beans grown in the Midono district of Yasakacho, Kyotango City, Kyoto Prefecture, has been released. They use large red beans that can only be harvested around 40 kg a year, resulting in a product with a good texture, taste, and aroma.
The product was planned by Hajime Umeda, 68, of Umeya Honpo (Yasakacho, Kyotango City), which sells specialty products. Azuki beans are produced by Yuji Kinoshita (79 years old, Yosano Town, Kyoto Prefecture) in a field at an altitude of about 400 meters.
According to Kinoshita, the field is in an environment with large temperature differences, and the azuki beans are large in size. Dainagon azuki beans are those with a diameter of 5.5 mm or more, and the azuki beans grown by Mr. Kinoshita are up to 1 cm in diameter.
Mr. Umeda named the azuki beans grown by Mr. Kinoshita ''Midono Dainagon'' and made botamochi as a souvenir, but it did not become a standard product because it did not keep well. Therefore, since August last year, I have been trying to develop zenzai. After making many prototypes, Mr. Kinoshita outsourced production to the City Food Processing Support Center using the adzuki beans he harvested in November.
The product is 1,580 yen (2 servings, tax included) for one box of 250 grams. They are sold at Umeya Honpo and Michi-no-Eki in Kyotango City.
