Fruit Butter is trending and here is where you can buy some in Asahikawa !

Popular Fruit Butters

Japan’s self-quarantine (no mandatory lockdown is imposed by the government) started a while ago and doesn’t seem to end anytime soon. As they cannot eat outside, people started to long for delicious food they can eat at home.

That's why we recommend fruit butter.
It's a little more expensive than jam, but has a richer flavour and a richer taste than jam.

You don't have to spread butter on the bread and then spread jam on top, so you get the taste of both butter and jam in one go. As it's not hard like butter, the fruit butter is easy to spread on bread.

As we spend more time at home and less time eating out, why not try something new at home ?

■Amaou Strawberry Butter

It's butter with strawberry pulp. But is this really butter?
We cannot stop ourselves from having some doubts when looking at the spread.
The strawberry paste and the strawberry pulp, the strawberries and the butter both have just the right amount of assertiveness, and the flavour that spreads in your mouth is indescribable.
If we had to choose a word for the fruit butter it would be “happiness”. Yes, it tastes like happiness.

■Shine Muscat Butter

The Shine Muscat grapes has exploded in popularity over the last few years.
How could it not be delicious if you made a fruit butter out of this Shine Muscat grape?
The flavour of the butter is not that strong and the taste of the Shine Muscat is refreshing. The aftertaste is also refreshing ! If you can't afford to buy Shine-Muscat grapes because of their high price, you should try the Shine-Muscat grape butter !

The store where you can find these two fruit butters

Name: KALDI
Address: AEON MALL Asahikawa Nishi 1F, 23-2161-3 Midori-cho, Asahikawa-shi, Aichi
Phone: 0166-59-7425
Opening hours: 9:00 - 21:00
Closed: Same as AEON MALL Asahikawa-Nishi
Parking available

■Pistachio Chocolate Butter

Pistachios aren’t really fruits but since those green nuts are popular in Japan lately, we wanted to feature this butter in this article.

The combination of pistachios and chocolate is so sweet and rich that you'll be hooked after one bite! Much firmer and rich than jam, our reporter found himself spreading too much paste on his bread.

Having plenty of paste on the bread is satisfying but it packs a punch. The sweetness and the richness of the spread is a bit too much in that case.
Spreading a thin layer is enough if you are mainly interested in enjoying the rich pistachio flavour.

Especially, if you don't have a sweet tooth, we recommend to only spread a thin layer to enjoy the rich pistachio flavour.

Where can I buy my own Pistachio chocolate butter ?

Name Coach and four Asahikawa (Coach and four Asahikawa Marche)
Address: Asahikawa-shi Miyamae 1-jo, 2-4-1
Tel: 0166-76-4000
Opening hours 9:00 - 23:00
Closed: No holidays
Parking available

■Lemon Butter

Will the lemon butter be sweet or sour?
Actually the lemon butter spread managed to take the perfect balance between the sour and the sweet. This added to the butter’s richness, it's like eating a desert.

I found out that some people use lemon butter as an ingredient to make a sauce for fish or steak. Making the lemon butter spread one of the most popular fruit butters.

This is also our reporter’s favourite among all the butters he bought.

■Ribbon Napolin Jam

Like the pistachio jam, this is not a fruit butter, but a "Ribbon Napolin" flavoured jam.
One of the drinks only available in Hokkaido, the Ribbon Napolin soda is a drink that everyone living in Hokkaido have already tasted at least once.

Also only available in Hokkaido, this jam was released to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the release of Ribbon Napolin.
It tastes exactly like the Ribbon Napolin soda but without the carbonated water. It would be fun to compare the taste of the Ribbon Napolin soda and the Ribbon Napolin Jam.

The shop where the above two products were purchased

Name Coop Sapporo Chuwa Store
Address: 8-1-21, Chuwa 5jo, Asahikawa City
Tel: 0166-62-7871
Opening hours 9:00 - 22:00
Closing Day: 1st January
Parking available

■Delicious baguette

Before our reporter was about to do his fruit jam tasting, he thought that a baguette wouldn’t be bad with all those jams and butters and decided to buy a baguette from the bakery at “L’air Bon” in Chuwa.

Buttering a loaf of bread is one thing, but spreading sweet fruit butter on a slightly salty, crunchy baguette is absolutely delicious.

L’air Bon’s bread is one of our writer favourites, the bakery not only sells delicious cooked breads, but also tasty simple salted breads. Isn't a baguette with fruit butter a bit fancy?
Even if we are refrained from going out, we can always eat delicious things at home.

Shop where you bought it

Name: L’air Bon Chūwa Store
Address: Asahikawa City, Chuwa 5jo 8-1-21, Coop Sapporo Chuwa Store
Phone: 0166-69-5535
Opening hours: 9:00 - 21:00
Closed: Same as Coop Sapporo Chuwa Store
Parking available

■Conclusion

Fruit butters are a bit more expensive than jams, but once you know how good they are, you'll be hooked.

The sweetness and sourness of the fruit combined with the richness of the butter will make you feel very happy. In addition to spreading it on bread, it can also be used as a secret ingredient when baking sweets or adding some in yoghurt.

Some fruit butters can even be used as a sauce for fish and meat dishes!
The pandemic is not over yet. Home isolation neither.
This may be a great chance to eat new things at home or develop your cooking skills !