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A Unique Printing Method
(Japan Official site)
The first company to develop a
method of freely manipulating edible pure gold was Tsukioka Co.,
Ltd., based in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture.
Tiny letters float on your cup of
coffee, reading "Happy Birthday." Bright and shiny, they almost
seem to be made of gold. In fact, they are! (August 30, 2007)
Read more |
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Tsukioka in
the press
Japan is
coffee savvy. The streets of metropolitan Tokyo are
dotted with hip, trendy cafes serving up pricey
lattes and espressos. And for those on the go, there
are vending machines dispensing cans of coffee. In
summer, the cans are even chilled and also heated in
winter. How do you impress the country that invented
canned vending machine coffee? With gold.
At Asia's largest pharmaceutical industry
exhibition, Japan's Tsukioka Co. Ltd. showed off
gold that should spice up dull cups of Joe. The
company is best known for making those eatable
breath mint-type film, but is trying to build up the
gold eating business. Called "Kin Kirara" (Sparkly
Gold), these thin, pure gold word and character
blocks are able to withstand hot java, not to
mention look nice on cakes. According to Tsukioka,
the pure gold helps refresh the human body—next to
"Happy Birthday," it says "longevity" in Japanese
kanji. Don't let the shine scare your wallet off,
little packets are available at stores like Tokyu
Hands for ¥500 ($4) a pop.
by Brian Ashcraft |
EDIBLE GOLD
Have Your Gold and Eat
It Too (August 30, 2007)
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| A gold
message floating on coffee |
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Tiny letters float on your cup of coffee,
reading "Happy Birthday." Bright and shiny, they
almost seem to be made of gold. In fact, they
are! A new form of ultra-fine pure gold that
floats on drinks is now being used to enliven
refreshments at parties and other events. The
sparkling appearance of the gold leaf is
luxuriously romantic, and the gold is, of
course, completely edible. The product is the
result of technology developed by Japan's
"hi-tech goldsmiths," who are part of a
centuries-old tradition of metalworking in
Japan.
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Desserts decorated with gold |
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A Unique Printing
Method
The first company to develop a method of freely
manipulating edible pure gold was Tsukioka Co.,
Ltd., based in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture.
The traditional method employed to create gold
leaf involves pounding and stretching the gold
into thin sheets. Tsukioka instead joins
molecules of gold together inside a vacuum pan,
creating extremely thin gold leaf that is 99.99%
pure and just 0.08 microns thick. To get an idea
of how thin this is, it should be noted that
1,000 microns are equal to just one millimeter.
So, perhaps gold "film" or "membrane" would be a
more apt description. Impurities normally render
gold inedible, but with such a high degree of
purity, this gold is safe for human consumption.
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| A piece
of angel-shaped gold leaf |
Once created, this pure gold leaf cannot
simply be dropped onto a cup of coffee. The gold
leaf is so thin that it crumples easily, making
it difficult to work with. However, coupling it
with an edible film that dissolves in water
makes it easy to handle. Tsukioka devised the
idea of printing gold leaf onto this edible and
water-soluble film, created with technology the
company developed on its own. When placed in a
liquid, the film dissolves, leaving a "Happy
Birthday" message, angel, star, or other shape
floating by itself.
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Spray-can gold powder |
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There are currently 42 messages and designs
available. The film is wound into a roll, and
pieces are peeled off one at a time. With the
smallest-sized packages at just ¥525 ($4.38 at
¥120 to the dollar), it is not at all expensive
for a product made of pure gold. Messages and
designs can also be custom made, although only
for large-volume orders of ¥65,000 ($542) or
more. Also on sale are a gold-leaf powder that
can be used to decorate cakes and other
confections, available in spray-can form, and a
sprinkle-on flake type.
A Golden Tradition
Marco Polo introduced Japan to European readers
as "Zipang, the country of gold" in The Travels
of Marco Polo more than 700 years ago, and the
Japanese have long utilized gold and silver in a
wide variety of ways. In addition to fashioning
these precious metals into jewelry, Japanese
craftspeople have used gold flakes and powder to
decorate lacquerware, byobu (decorative folding
screens), and other handicrafts, in addition to
sprinkling it on special dishes or placing it
inside bottles of sake. Given this history, the
idea of consuming gold with food or drink is not
at all foreign to the Japanese.
 Page
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Copyright (c) 2007 Web Japan.
Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic
Japanese news sources. Articles presented here
are offered for reference purposes and do not
necessarily represent the policy or views of the
Japanese Government. |
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International trade fair
specialized in API, where all pharmaceutical ingredient
suppliers exhibit, is finally launched in Tokyo, Japan.
10,000* API specialists from worldwide will visit and many
beneficial business meetings are expected to hold on site.
Visitors will arrive from Japan, China, India, Singapore,
Europe, U.S.A.
FOODEX JAPAN has been providing
exhibitors and visitors with the opportunity to learn about new
trends in the food & beverage industry and do business with each
other for 33 years.
Tsukioka will be there with you.
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