Taste the emptiness! Japanese Company launches flavorless candy

3 min read

1 year ago Robin

Taste the air…You know, because air, in its purest form, don’t have a taste.
It seems like Japan has done it all when it comes to simulating the flavor of one food in another food. Over the years we’ve seen even dumpling-flavored soda, and wasabi-flavored ice cream.
It’s gotten to the point where it seems as though it’s all been done before and products are now moving into avant-garde creations including instant-yaki-soba-flavored instant yakisoba.
And now, we have also candy that tastes like nothing.

Whether it be sweet, sour, salty or even spicy, as we learned also in National Candy Day celebrated on November 4, candy has always been associated with a type of flavor.
Well, at least until now.
Lawson, one of Japan’s largest convenience store chains is currently testing a number of products, including the aptly-named Aji no Shinai? Ame (Tasteless? Candy), which apparently tastes like nothing.
As you can imagine, the marketed lack of flavor has been raising eyebrows in Japan, and for a good reason.
After all, can you even imagine sucking on a candy that doesn’t have any taste?
In addition to the flavor-free candy, there’s a sports-drink-flavored alcopop, a cocktail made of awamori distilled liquor and lemon, chu-hi with protein powder mixed in, cafe latte in a microwaveable cup, Korean-garlic-bread-flavored instant ramen, and garlic-and-mayo-flavored potato chips.

But, back to the sense of this article, according to the packaging, our candy only has two ingredients: synthetic sugar substitute polydextrose and organic sugar substitute erythritol.
One bag costs 189 yen (US$1.29) and contains seven pieces of candy.
But is it really tasteless?
It’s possible, and that’s what Lawson claims, but we never tried it, so we couldn’t say.
But, according to who tried it, even though the makers of Aji no Shinai? Ame were able to reduce the flavor to almost nothing, the candy apparently has a very faint aroma that some testers compared to that of a watered-down sports drink, but there is also a hint of sweetness to it, comparable to that of white rice, but a little less sweet than raw egg.
Ok, flavorless candy may not be completely flavorless, but that’s unsurprising. After all, even grass and a simply stone has some flavor, but as far as candy goes, you’ll have a tough time finding a less flavorful type.

So why bother making a flavorless candy?
Isn’t flavor the main reason to eat candy?
Actually there are some people just use candy to keep their mouths and throats from drying out without having to consume undesired sugar, and could do without all the sweetness and artificial flavoring.
Mint candy could be an option, but why don’t try something different?

And is flavorless candy here to stay?
Of course, it all depends on consumers.
If they buy it and vote for it to become a permanent fixture in Lawson convenience stores, then we’ll be able to enjoy the taste of emptiness also for years to come. At least, in Japan…