Obento: a Tasty Tradition
Have you ever thought of eating a football for lunch at school? This is what happens in Japan. Children open their lunchboxes to find rice shaped like footballs, eggs that look like rabbits or flowershaped carrots. This is obento!
Obento, is one of the oldest food traditions in Japan. It is a special lunch served in a box. Obento boxes have been part of Japanese society since the 5th century when people used to take a packed lunch with them to work. Obento has become very popular since then and these days you can buy it almost anywhere, at theatres, airports and even at train stations.
Obento usually consists of four parts rice, three parts meat or fish (fried or grilled), two parts vegetables (pickled, boiled or steamed) and one part fruit. It should be nourishing and healthy, but it must look attractive too. You often see food shaped like flowers, animals and sometimes even cartoon characters! Mothers take great pride in creating obento for their children to take to school.
Nursery schools have established regulations for obento. Food should be easy to eat with chopsticks or fingers, portions should be small and overall it should be pleasing to the eye. It should also include food that the child would not normally eat so that they won't become a fussy eater.
The Japanese have always looked upon the mother as one of the main influences of a child's success. By taking their time to prepare their children's food in this way, they show their love for them.
What happens if a Japanese mum runs out of ideas? Well, there are almost 400 magazines available full of ideas for them to get inspired.
