Kippan

Kippan
桔餅
Alternative namesChippan
Place of originChina, Japan
Region or stateOkinawa
Main ingredientsCitrus, sugar

Kippan (桔餅), also chippan[1] are an Okinawan confection. They are crafted individually by hand from lightly peeled kunibu or kunenbo (九年母) and kaabuchī (カーブチー) citrus from Yanbaru, reduced with sugar for several hours, then coated in liquid sugar; sometimes they are dusted with further toppings, such as matcha; the whole process can take up to four days.[2][3][4]

Kippan date from the time of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Understood to have been originally introduced from Fuzhou some three hundred years ago, they were served to visiting dignitaries of the Imperial Chinese Missions. Available to the people at large from the Meiji period, today they continue to be made only by one sixth-generation purveyor in Naha.[2][3][4] Kippan have been recognized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as a constituent element of the Japan Heritage "story" Traditional Ryūkyūan Cuisine, Awamori, and Performing Arts of Okinawa that have continued unbroken since the time of the Ryūkyū Kingdom.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ 行事料理 [Event Cuisine] (PDF) (in Japanese). Okinawa Prefecture. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b ストーリーの構成文化財一覧表 [List of Constituent Cultural Properties of the "Story"] (PDF) (in Japanese). Okinawa Prefecture. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b Mansfield, Stephen (9 March 2019). "Secret techniques and local ingredients: Okinawan sweets fit for a king". Japan Times.
  4. ^ a b きっぱん [Kippan] (in Japanese). Jahana Kippan. 21 July 2020.
  5. ^ 日本遺産認定！『琉球王国時代から連綿と続く沖縄の伝統的な「琉球料理」と「泡盛」、そして「芸能」』 [Recognized as Japan Heritage! "Traditional Ryūkyūan Cuisine, Awamori, and Performing Arts of Okinawa that have continued unbroken since the time of the Ryūkyū Kingdom"] (in Japanese). Okinawa Prefecture. 28 June 2019. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.