Her i Uglebo spiser vi mad fra store dele af verden, også Japan, og en af de ting, jeg rigtig god kan lide, er at Kikkoman - dem der med soyaen - har lavet nogle særlige flasker med fine motiver på. Desværre opdagede jeg det lidt sent, så jeg har kun de tre seneste, men den fra 2023 passer altså lige nu.
Se bare, gyldne ahornblade, der daler ned under fuldmånen og en gylden bro. Det bliver ikke meget mere efterårsagtigt.
In the Owlery we eat a lot of food from all over the world, also Japanese. One of the staples of my Japanese cooking is soy. And Kikkoman has made the perfect bottle.
For the last few years (since 2020), they have even made special editions of it. I was a bit slow finding out, I've got only the last three. But the one from 2023 is perfect for now. Golden maple leafs slowly falling under the full moon and a golden bridge - can it get any more autumny?
Se bare, gyldne ahornblade, der daler ned under fuldmånen og en gylden bro. Det bliver ikke meget mere efterårsagtigt.
For the last few years (since 2020), they have even made special editions of it. I was a bit slow finding out, I've got only the last three. But the one from 2023 is perfect for now. Golden maple leafs slowly falling under the full moon and a golden bridge - can it get any more autumny?
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For øvrigt er denne flaske en af de bedste eksempler på designkunst, jeg har oplevet. Den er flot, stabil, rar at holde om og hælde af, den drypper ikke og er nem både at vaske op og fylde igen. Jeg troede det var et lykketræf, indtil jeg fandt det nedenstående på Kikkomans hjemmeside (mens jeg ledte efter "årgangsflaskerne")
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This bottle is by the way one of the best designed pieces, I ever saw. It is pretty, stable, easy to use, does not drip and is easy to clean and refill. I thought it was just happy chance until I discovered this piece of prose on Kikkoman's homepage (while looking for the limited edition bottles):
Celebrating our beloved dispenser
In Japan, until the late 1950s, soy sauce was usually sold in large 2-liter bottles. At home, people would have to pour it into small pitchers to use it as a condiment at the table. That process was awkward, and the pitchers would inevitably drip and make a mess at the table.
So, Kikkoman set out to create a modern solution to this centuries-old problem: a reusable, dripless dispenser that would make life easier for consumers.
The company hired a talented young man named Kenji Ekuan—who would eventually become one of Japan’s most famous industrial designers—to take on the challenge.
Over the course of three years, Ekuan and his team developed nearly 100 prototypes until they finally found the solution: a perfectly balanced bell-shaped bottle with a flared opening that was easy to refill and a signature red cap with two spouts (one for soy sauce to pour out of, the other for air intake) that created a smooth, steady pour and put an end to the problem of dripping forever.
The Kikkoman dispenser debuted in 1961 and went on to sell in the hundreds of millions.
In Japan, until the late 1950s, soy sauce was usually sold in large 2-liter bottles. At home, people would have to pour it into small pitchers to use it as a condiment at the table. That process was awkward, and the pitchers would inevitably drip and make a mess at the table.
So, Kikkoman set out to create a modern solution to this centuries-old problem: a reusable, dripless dispenser that would make life easier for consumers.
The company hired a talented young man named Kenji Ekuan—who would eventually become one of Japan’s most famous industrial designers—to take on the challenge.
Over the course of three years, Ekuan and his team developed nearly 100 prototypes until they finally found the solution: a perfectly balanced bell-shaped bottle with a flared opening that was easy to refill and a signature red cap with two spouts (one for soy sauce to pour out of, the other for air intake) that created a smooth, steady pour and put an end to the problem of dripping forever.
The Kikkoman dispenser debuted in 1961 and went on to sell in the hundreds of millions.
(Dansk oversættelse, se helt til sidst)
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Bemærk venligst at Kikkoman's fine flaske og jeg er lige gamle. Jeg leder stadig efter den fødselsdagsflaske (som måske aldrig blev fremstillet) og de tre andre, der er vist nedenfor.
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Please note that this bottle and I were born in the same year. I am still looking for the jubilee bottle - I do not even know if it was ever made - and the three others shown here below.
- - - - - - - Oversættelsen - - -
Vi hylder vores elskede flaske
I Japan blev sojasovs indtil slutningen af 1950'erne solgt i store 2-liters flasker. Hjemme måtte man hælde den over i små kander for at kunne bruge den ved bordet. Det var besværligt, og kanderne dryppede og svinede bordet til.
Derfor satte Kikkoman sig for at finde en moderne løsning på dette århundredgamle problem: en genanvendelig, drypfri flaske, der ville gøre livet lettere for forbrugerne.
Virksomheden hyrede en talentfuld ung mand ved navn Kenji Ekuan – der senere skulle blive en af Japans mest berømte industrielle designere – til at tage udfordringen op.
I løbet af tre år udviklede Ekuan og hans team næsten 100 prototyper, indtil de endelig fandt løsningen: en perfekt afbalanceret klokkeformet flaske med en udvidet åbning, der var nem at genopfylde, og en karakteristisk rød hætte med to huller (den ene til at hælde sojasovs ud af, den anden til luft), der skabte en jævn, stabil stråle og satte en stopper for problemet med dryp for altid.
Kikkoman-flasken kom på markedet i 1961 og er solgt i millioner af eksemplarer lige siden.
