Kompeito
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Kompeito.jpg
Kompeito.jpg
Kompeito in various colors.
Kompeito, also Romanized as konpeitou, (in Japanese: 金平糖, or hiragana: こんぺいとう) is a Japanese candy originally made in Portugal. The word Kompeito comes from the Portuguese word confeito, which means a sugar candy. It was introduced to Japan somewhere around the 15th and 16th century by traders from Europe.
Kompeito is usually 5 to 10 millimeters in diameter. It is surrounded by tiny bulges, which occurs in the cooking process. It usually takes 7 to 10 days to make a Kompeito and they are handmade even today. It is made by showering sugar water in a giant spinning tub called dora. This forming process is a topic in molecular engineering, as these bulges would not form if the tub spun faster.
See also: Wagashi