How Konpeito candy is made

Rotating heat source that cascades the growing konpeito candy to achieve that signature starry look!

A brief history of Konpeito. In kanji it is often written as 金平糖 which translates to “golden flat sugar”. As you can see, it is anything but flat. Although it is one of the standards of confection in Japan, it was originally introduced to Japan by a Portuguese trader. A flask of konpeito candy was often presented to elite socialites as a peace offering. Today, they have become a symbol of joy and are modernized to endless flavors, colors, and sizes.

I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Kompeito Museum Yao in Osaka, Japan. Somehow I came across their YouTube video and having named my cake business after these beautiful candies, I decided it was mandatory to take the tour. It is far from the beaten path of tourists but once we arrived the staff was super friendly and cleared up some of the mystery as to how these adorable candies are made. We were told to choose 2 colors and their flavors. Then we got to rotating the candies in their heating drum as we drizzled in coloring and flavor. Then we even got to dust them with edible gold to make them extra special. I would 100% return for this incredible experience.

Some trivia about these candies: Konpeito is so heavily steeped in Japanese culture that The Nutcracker character “Sugar Plum Fairy” was renamed as “Konpeito Fairy” for Japanese renditions of the ballet. You may be more familiar with konpeito candy than you think. Konpeito is commonly found in anime such as Ghibli’s Spirited Away, Mario Galaxy, Legend of Zelda, and Animal Crossing. See if you can find them all!

For me, I have always had a fascination with bottles and konpeito are often given away in flasks or boxes called “bonbonniere”. Because they stand for the love we would like to express to the person we are gifting them to, I named my cake business after these candies with such a sweet tale.