Feeling peckish🍿: Kameda Potapota Yaki Rice Crackers 🍘

 One fine day as I headed to Don Don Donki after work, I spotted this bag of rice crackers at the low low price of $1.00 (it was expiring in April). Let's talk about it. 

MEANING OF POTAPOTA YAKI❓:

Pota Pota in Japanese refers to the sound that is produced by a leaky faucet💧, while yaki refers to something that is being grilled, boiled or pan-fried🍳. 

In the context of this snack, the rice cracker is coated in a layer of sweet and salty soy sauce. Afterwards, it is then grilled to give it its crispiness and char. 

SERVING SIZE🙉: 

10 packets with 2 pieces of crackers inside of each one. 

PRICE💸:

FairPrice: $4.54, Don Don Donki: $4.90

TASTE 😋:

My first impression was that it is a Wang Wang Rice Cracker dupe😐. To be fair both products are the same. When I first tried it, I could immediately taste the sweetness, followed by a slight hint of saltiness. There isn't a very strong char taste😓, but the flavour of the sauce makes up for it. 

I find that the saltiness being a part of the after taste compliments the sweetness very well😍. The saltiness neither clashes with the sweetness of the sauce, nor does it give one a jump scare😱. This is what makes this so addictive. However after a while, the sweetness will still linger in my mouth, like it gets stuck at the back of my throat😖. 

This is CRISPY. The cracker has a good thickness to it, giving a substantial crunch when bitten into it. I feel that the grilling🍳 of the cracker is also another factor that makes it so crunchy. With that being said, do be careful about eating it if you have peers who face problems chewing solid foods. When I say crunchy, it is very crunchy.

INGREDIENTS LIST📄:

*do skip ahead if you are not interested☺

The ingredients list seems to be pretty clean👍, but I will explain some of the ingredients that are present in here.

Firstly, Modified starch. Modified starch in layman terms is made up of starch from foods like vegetables and grains. Think of it like alloys (if you have studied chemistry before, you might understand). Alloys are a composition of different metals to make that material stronger. If we apply it to modified starch, modified starch is basically a stronger kind of starch as compared to the individual starches💪. Mainly, modified starch helps to maintain the texture of foods. Since these rice crackers are being grilled and fried, modified starch is required to ensure the crispiness does not alter with time⏰. 

Secondly, trehalose. Trehalose is a nice term for sugar🍬, that's all. The unique thing about trehalose is its prevalence in Japanese food. Why is it so popular? Sugar acts as a preservative in many snacks. At the same time, research has shown that trehalose is less sugary than your typical table sugar. With that, you can definitely snack away without the fear of trehalose.

Lastly, carotenes. Carotenes specifically aids plant growth🌱. It shall be assumed that carotenes were use in the production of rice to form the rice crackers. However, this does not mean that the rice eaten are genetically modified. It is not harmful, in fact it acts as an antioxidant for humans. But this does not mean you should solely eat these rice crackers for the rest of your life, have a little balance💃. 

All in all, I will confidently say it is safe to eat UNLESS you are allergic to wheat, soybean products, eggs, dairy, shrimp and/or peanuts. If you have ibs, this is safe to eat I promise. 

SUITABILITY 👍👎:

Kameda Potapota Yaki Rice Crackers are generally suitable and palatable for all ages. However if you are not a fan of the lingering sweetness in your mouth afterwards, or have problems chewing solid foods, I would discourage you from buying it. At the end of the day, it is just my two cents 💰💰, take it with a pinch of salt🧂

I hope that you like this article. It was definitely an eye opener for me 👀 and I hope it was the same for you too 😁 that's all for today, bye bye 👋

References

(n.d.). Kameda Potapota Yaki. Retrieved May 21, 2024, from https://japanstore.pl/en/snacks/kameda-potapota-yaki.html

Crowe, A. (2018, June 18). Post. Aonghas Crowe. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://www.aonghas-crowe.com/artlcles/2018/6/18/potsu-potsu-japanese-onomatopoeia-and-the-rain

Nature Portfolio. (n.d.). A classic sugar, trehalose offers new solutions. https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-020-00416-1#:~:text=Now%20widely%20used%20in%20Japan,frozen%20foods%2C%20reducing%20food%20loss.

Starch in Food. (n.d.). What is modified starch and why is it modified? Starch in Food. Retrieved May 21, 2024, from https://starchinfood.eu/question/what-is-modified-starch-and-why-is-it-modified/

Wilson, D. R., Anthony, K., & Falck, S. (2017, November 21). Carotenoids: Everything You Need to Know. Healthline. Retrieved May 21, 2024, from https://www.healthline.com/health/carotenoids#benefits