-
Honey with Hornets from Japan is exactly what it sounds like【Photos】
投稿日 2019年3月17日 22:00:05 (ニュース)
-
続・お知らせ。海外セレブゴシップ&ニュース
-
お知らせ
-
We spot the legendary dekotora Aki Kannon, dedicated to actress and singer Aki Yashiro
-
New Pokémon GU collaboration dresses all the family, including babies for the first time
-
How do European Cup Noodles taste to a Japanese palate?
-
We’ve been doing it wrong – Japanese genius shows us how we should all be making sandwiches【Pics】
-
The future is now with full face sunglasses
-
Natto-infused ramen is a thing — we tried it, we love it【Taste test】
-
Jellyfish and Halloween in perfect harmony at Sumida Aquarium event
-
Japanese toilet paper collection opens our minds as we open our butts
-
Aomori police on the lookout for man shouting unsolicited advice at kids about dating and ramen
-
Former Arashi members Sho Sakurai and Masaki Aiba get married… Wait, that didn’t come out right
-
Creator of Japan’s longest-running manga, Golgo 13, passes away, leaves fans one last gift
-
Crazy cheap cosplay at Daiso? How to transform into Dragon Ball’s Vegeta at the discount shop
-
7 Halloween-themed afternoon teas you won’t want to miss this year
-
Krispy Kreme Japan creates doughnut burgers that are a meal and two desserts all in one【Photos】
-
Get in the damn drift car, Shinji? Evangelion Tomika toy brings D1 machine home in miniature form
-
Demon Slayer Nichiren Blades ready for new duty: Slicing through your sweets as dessert knives
-
Man in Japan arrested for breaking into ex-girlfriend’s apartment to steal her Nintendo Switch
-
The Japanese Internet chooses the top too-sexy-for-their-own-good male voices in anime
-
First-ever Studio Ghibli x Russell Athletic range pays homage to My Neighbour Totoro
-
Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan announces first expansion with new Donkey Kong area
-
Cup Noodle pouch satisfies our never-ending need for instant ramen
-
Retro Japanese train is our new favourite office space
-
How do Japanese fans feel about Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop opening sequence?
-
We try Uniqlo coffee at first-ever cafe inside Ginza flagship store
-
The number of elderly people in Japan this year has yet again smashed multiple records
-
Mr. Sato broadens his home drinking horizons at Kaldi【Japan’s Best Home Senbero】
-
We try Japanese Twitter’s newest trend the Penguin Egg, end up hatching something very disturbing
-
Takoyaki makers surprisingly good at grilling meat for yakiniku too
Sponsored Link
No beating around the bush with this buzz-worthy stinger-enhanced sweetener.
Japan is a nation of unabashed foodies, and so when Japanese Twitter user @yusai00 came across some locally made honey from a small batch producer in Oita Prefecture, he decided to buy some to take home. However, it wasn’t just the rich golden color that caught his attention, but the fact that each and every bottle contained a giant bug in it.
【蜂注意】ミツバチの天敵であるスズメバチに対する、養蜂家の恨みつらみが詰まったハチミツがもう狂気の沙汰。「命をかけて」生け捕りにしたオオスズメバチを、生きたままハチミツに漬けこむという斜め上のサイコっぷりで、買わずにはいれなかった。 https://t.co/ygddAzIvq3
—
ヤギの人(13日は東京ヤギオフ) (@yusai00) March 11, 2019
When you think of honey and insects, your mind mike instantly jumps to bees, but the special ingredient is a different species altogether. Those are actually hornets suspended in the sweet, syrupy liquid.
“What?!? Why?!?!? How?!?!?!?” you might be screaming, and so we’ll answer those in turn. Starting with “What?”, again, these are bottles of honey with hornets in them. As for “Why?” that answer has two parts.
Hornets and bees are natural enemies, and just a few hornets are capable of ruining a hive that houses thousands of times as many bees. As such, beekeepers see hornets as a scourge, and disposing of them is something they have to do while producing honey. Secondly, the makers claim that by placing the hornets in the jars, the insect’s essences and extracts soak into the honey, making it healthier and more delicious.
Sponsored Link
▼ The jars ship in opaque containers, which deliverymen no doubt appreciate.
And finally, for the most disturbing part of the story, let’s get to “How?” While the complete details aren’t provided, the manufacturers do say that the hornets used for the special honey are captured, “at the risk of our beekeepers’ lives,” while trying to encroach on the bees’ territory. They’re then placed, while still alive, into the jars, which are then closed up, and spend the last moments of their lives essentially suffocating/drowning in honey.
If there’s a bronze lining to all this, it’s that you’re not actually supposed to eat the hornet. Instead, you’re supposed to use just the honey, leaving the hornet as “a decoration,” according to the manufacturers. They even recommend pouring in some sort of alcohol to preserve the creature once you’ve consumed all the honey (although if you just polished off a whole jar of hornet honey, you might need to drink that liquor itself to ease your psychological anguish).
Honey with Hornets, as the product is fittingly called, can be ordered online here through Rakutan at a price of 1,260 yen (US$11) for a 150-gram (5.3-ounce) jar. That’s not exactly cheap, but we imagine the demand for bug-enhanced sweeteners isn’t particularly price elastic. The product is also not recommended for children under 1, though it’s not specified if that guideline is based on nutritional/digestive concerns or the simple human decency of sparing babies from emotional trauma.
And no, @yusai00 hasn’t mentioned anything about how it tastes, though we imagine it would go great as a topping for Japan’s matcha green tea cricket bars or wasp crackers.
Source: Twitter/@yusai00 via Jin, Rakuten/Whole Square Sweet Kitchen
Images: Rakuten/Whole Square Sweet Kitchen
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Source: SORA NEWS24
Sponsored Link
最新情報