The Kanjuku Yukidoke apple literally means "fully ripe snowmelt" apple, and refers to a specific breed of premium Japanese apple, often from Aomori. However, this product, the Kanjuku Yukidoke Apple Tart is from Kita Shinano in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, and its apples are also from Nagano. It is also the breed used in SunnyHills' (another prominent Asian patisserie) apple cake. So how does it compare with typical apples and apple tarts?
The first thing that struck me about the taste is that it is extremely fragrant and fruity, almost floral and peach-like or like stone fruits' fragrance, with a tinge of tartness. I'm not even talking about a good Fuji or Envy apple, but like so fragrant that it was very similar to the Yakult, Hichew or Vitagen apple flavours, or those fragrant apple candies in the convenience stores using artificial flavours. But if you look at the ingredients list, they use real Kanjuku Yukidoke apples. This is unlike the typical Western apple flavour, which tends to be much less floral in its fragrance, and a lot more tart.
It made me realise that the supposedly artificial apple flavoured treats from Japan probably modeled their apple flavour based on such varieties, not the Gala or other Western apple breeds.
As for the pastry, it was less impressive, but decent enough and complementary to the apple flavour. From the ingredients list, they do not use butter but vegetable (cooking) oil. So the pastry tasted like an oil-based short crust that was crispy and crunchy when reheated. The wheat taste was strong and satisfying, like a good crispy wheat-based traditional crispy flat bread.
Furthermore, as you can see from the image on the inside view, it is not pure tart, but there is a bit of cake inside. This is probably to absorb any excess moisture since it is packed in plastic.
But apart from that storage reason, I thought the cake helped to complement and serve as a pastry base for the strong fragrance of the apple to sit, because the tart is thin and does not really provide much of a pastry base for flavours to wrap around.
I think this type of floral fragrant apple taste is not unique to this snack, but I've come across it in Japanese department stores' patisseries' apple products before, such as Minamoto Kitchoan or Foucher Paris. Nonetheless, this was one of the more satisfying snacks and would probably be a good souvenir from the Nagano region. It is also packed nicely and comes individually wrapped, as in the image below.
And this is the ingredients list. As mentioned, no butter. The Nagano-grown apples are the 5th ingredient on the list, after flour, sugar, eggs and oil.
Finally, some images from the store with price tag.
Discover other tarts and apple treats
- Shinano Gold Apple from Aomori, Japan
- "My Sweet" Unagi-imo Tart by Unagiimo Store
- Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato (Beni-imo) Tart
- Macau-inspired Portuguese Purple Sweet Potato Taro Egg Tart
- Taiwanese Savoury Macadamia Tart by Shang Shin Select
- Sweet Potato and Chestnut Tarts by Foucher Paris
- Apple Tea Time Bun by Johan Paris Bakery
- Apple Baumkuchen by Juchheim
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