Rain and Negative Space
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
I've been thinking about water.
During the rainy season, it rains often.
A quiet, steady drizzle.
We Japanese call this season tiresome — yet somewhere, I think we love it too.
Listening to the sound of rain, a thought suddenly came to me.
That so much of what we eat and drink is made of water.
The Water of Yakiyama
Yakiyama, home to Cacaogoto, is known for its delicious water.
Several spring-water stations dot the area, and locals come to fill their bottles.
The groundwater here is excellent, and for those who have long lived in this area, water has always been a quiet, everyday gift.
At Cacaogoto, we draw that water from our own well.
It was dug thirty-five years ago, when my grandparents built this building.
Since my grandparents' time, water has been welling up in this place.
And that same water still becomes the water we use to make our sweets today.
Kingyoku and Water
Kingyoku is a confection made of water.
Agar dissolved in water, sugar added and simmered down, then quietly cooled until set.
What we use in it is cacao pulp.
The fruit-like flesh that surrounds the cacao bean.
A juicy ingredient with a bright acidity and fruity aroma.
Every kingyoku we make at Cacaogoto uses this cacao pulp.
Because the process is so simple, the quality of the water comes through directly in the flavor.
To make a kingyoku with real clarity, you need water free of anything unnecessary.
In that sense too, I feel the well water of Yakiyama suits this confection well.
On Negative Space
The beauty of kingyoku lies in its clarity.
That quiet brilliance, the way it lets light pass through.
To be transparent is also to hold nothing unnecessary.
The stillness of the rainy season feels similar, somehow.
Rain falls, and the air settles into a quiet calm.
Whatever was rushing us drifts a little further away.
Perhaps negative space isn't an empty space at all, but a kind of time that slowly fills.
Water quietly carries that kind of time.
June's Kingyoku
This month, we made two kinds of kingyoku.
Sansho and konatsu. Both use cacao pulp.
The sansho uses fragrant Japanese sansho pepper from Kitora Farm in Wakayama Prefecture. Its sharp, tingling kick is just right for a tired body.
The konatsu balances a refreshing tartness with the bitterness of its peel.
Both are ingredients that capture the feeling of early summer.
Held up to the light, their color shifts ever so slightly.
Take a bite, and the aroma opens up, soft and light.
They pair wonderfully with tea, herbal tea, and of course, cacao tea.
