If Japan Is Eating Fried Maple Leaves, Why Aren't We?

[KamaAina]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/06/fried-maple-leaves-japan_n_5939344.html

We're all about snack time in the U.S., where chips, candy bars and trail mix normally reign supreme. But people in Japan are taking snacking to a whole new level -- by eating leaves.

To be fair -- these aren't just any leaves. According to Brian Ashcraft at Kotaku, the leaf snack is called "momiji" or "momiji tempura" and gets its name from the Japanese Maple tree with the same moniker. The maple/momiji leaves are usually found (and fried!) in Minoh City, Osaka, Japan.

"Momiji" can be eaten all year long, and the practice has supposedly been around for almost a thousand years. The maple leaves themselves aren't supposed to taste like much, which makes sense because they're usually preserved in salt barrels for about a year, and then fried in a sweet batter.

Deep-fried leaves sound much more like state fair food instead of a Japanese snack, but there are some good recipes available (we like this Maple Leaf, Pumpkin and Fig Tempura twist) if you want to try and make momiji tempura at home.

Vermont could solve the world's food crisis all by itself!

[eShirl]

1. Because we haven't put bacon in it yet

[KamaAina]

2. There you go!

[magical thyme]

3. hmmmm, I'm thinking Vermont leaves, bacon, and Vermont maple syrup

Those leaves are starting to sound pretty tasty

[Chan790]

4. No, Vermont can't.

You're a Yalie if memory serves correct, so you're probably aware that here in the NW hills of CT, W. Mass, NH, and VT we eat snow with syrup on it. It's a regional delicacy...if we'd eat snow and call it food and we're not eating maple leaves, there's probably a reason. You know that someone has probably tried it before.

I'd wager it tastes like dirt.
...
I won that wager. I went in the back yard and ate leaf harvested fresh off our Sugar maple. (Acer saccharum) The taste is distinctly spinach salad, dirt and fall foliage with a mildly sweet note. I doubt it's any better deep fried.

[surrealAmerican]

8. They are essentially pickled first.

That could make a difference.

At least, that's what I think preserving in salt barrels for a year would do.

[shenmue]

5. Vermont maple candies

are the tastiest thing in the world!

[cemaphonic]

6. Japan has got to be the only food culture that likes frying stuff even more than the US.

Granted, their methods are healthier, but still...

[betsuni]

9. This is true

I'd never eaten croquettes until Japan. My favorites are the creamy crab or shrimp ones. In winter, passing a little mom-and-pop croquette shop and smelling that warm frying scent is nostalgic even for me. I used to live near a shop selling potato and blue cheese croquettes that I became addicted to. It's like a rule that if it's before pay day and you have to make do with what you can find in the fridge: fry it!

[Art_from_Ark]

10. They even fry tofu

Yum　

[KamaAina]

11. Nope. Scotland.

Deep-fried pizza.

[Art_from_Ark]

12. They have deep-fried pizza in Japan, too

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[betsuni]

7. Maple Leaf Rag

[LiberalElite]

13. I'd bet anything takes better in sweet batter. nt