Karintō
| Type | Snack food |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Japan |
| Main ingredients | Flour, yeast, and brown sugar |
Karintō (かりんとう,花林糖, karintō; (ateji)) is a traditional Japanese snack food. Sweet and deep-fried, it is made primarily of flour, yeast, and brown sugar.[1][2] It has a deep brown and pitted appearance, and takes the form of a bite-sized pillow or short, sausage-like cylinder.[1][2] Although traditional karintō is coated with brown sugar, other variations now appear on the market, such as white sugar, sesame seeds, miso, or peanuts.[1]
History
Karintō's roots are unclear, with primary origination theories being either from around the Nara Period[3] or being derived from a Portuguese snack in a later period. In either case it has been available from street merchants since at least the Tenpō era,[3] roughly from 1830 to 1841.
References
- ^ a b c "Karinto (A deep-fried snack made with brown sugar) | Let's Cook Japanese | NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN". NHK WORLD. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ a b "Karinto Manju Yuzu | Product information". IBARAKI EXPORTS - Selection of Japanese Foods - (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ a b "Karinto (Barra de harina frita azucarada)" (PDF). Japanese Embassy in Cuba.