"Responding to the desire to eat ohagi even over 100 years old" Soft Japanese confectionery wins Jury's Special Award at the 11th Nursing Care Food & Smile Care Food Contest
Izuman Jozo's "Spoon-Eatable Smooth Ohagi" won the Jury's Special Award at the 11th Nursing Care Food & Smile Care Food Contest. This product is a soft Japanese confectionery made with red beans and rice, designed to be easy for the elderly with chewing difficulties to eat, and is suitable as a snack or light meal.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 8, 2026 at 20:30
- 🔍 Collected: April 8, 2026 at 12:00
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 20, 2026 at 15:41 (291h 41m after Collected)
Izuman Jozo Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Taketoyo-cho, Chita-gun, Aichi Prefecture; Representative Director: Eiichiro Yoshida; hereinafter "the Company"), founded in 1921 and having developed over 20,000 types of seasonings and retort foods primarily through OEM, has announced that its product, "Spoon-Eatable Smooth Ohagi," received the Jury's Special Award in the "Food for People with Chewing Difficulties" category at the 11th Nursing Care Food & Smile Care Food Contest, organized by Japan Food Journal.
* Overview of the 11th Nursing Care Food & Smile Care Food Contest https://news.nissyoku.co.jp/carefood
■ What is "Spoon-Eatable Smooth Ohagi"?
The award-winning "Spoon-Eatable Smooth Ohagi" is a product that combines two traditional Japanese sweets: "zenzai" and "ohagi."
We combined carefully cooked azuki beans, a specialty zenzai from our artisans, with rice to create an "ohagi" that can be eaten with a spoon.
■ "Ease of eating" highly praised by elderly customers
The azuki beans and rice are moderately soft, providing a texture that can be easily enjoyed by those with concerns about their chewing ability.
It combines elements of both a staple food and a sweet, making it suitable for snacks or light meals.
Customers who have used the product have commented:
"My 101-year-old grandmother loves to eat it."
"I bought it for my 104-year-old grandmother who had difficulty eating ohagi."
These voices highlight the product's ease of eating, designed with the elderly in mind, which has been highly evaluated.
■ "Deliciousness" from carefully selected domestic ingredients
Only high-quality ingredients are carefully selected: Hokkaido-grown azuki beans, domestic beet sugar, domestic rice, and domestic salt.
To enhance the natural sweetness of the rice, we used less beet sugar than in our regular zenzai, resulting in a gentle sweetness with a pleasant aftertaste.
It is easy to eat even when appetite is low, and can be enjoyed with peace of mind.
■ "Ease of use" reducing cleanup burden with no need for dishes
It can be stored at room temperature and is delicious whether warmed or eaten as is.
If warming, use an electronic oven.