Locally popular ”Melon Bread”

Word on the streets about ”Melon Bread” in Kumamoto

In Arao city which faces the Ariake Sea, we heard about a special Melon Bread so we decided to pay a visit. ”Fukuyama Bakery” has being making ”Melon Bread” for more than 50 years, using a unique method.
Melon Bread or ”Melon Pan”, which is familiar to a lot of people from children to adults, usually has cookie dough on the surface. The outside is crispy and inside is fluffy. The ”Melon Pan” at Fukuyama Bakery also has the same texture, but what makes it popular is that is remains delicious long after it is taken out of the oven. They also have a variety with a peanut cream filling which is also popular. It is so widely popular that people come from afar to purchase the ”Melon Pan”. We recommend you reserve your ”Melon Pan” if you’re planning to travel from far away. Of course, other types of bread are available in addition to the ”Melon Pan”. The bakery takes orders by phone of fax.

We also encountered another locally popular ”Melon Pan” while visiting Kumamoto – ”High School Komelon Pan” that was jointly developed by the Food Processing Department (食品加工部) of Kumamoto Prefectural Kumamoto Agricultural High School and Aso Delicious (阿蘇デリシャス). The Food Processing Department had been developing a bread using rice flour under the motto of ”locally produced, locally consumed”. They had a simple question ”Why isn’t there any melon in Melon Pan?” and created their own ”Melon Pan”. With help from a corporation, they created a very chewy ”Melon Pan” using rice and melon from Kyushu. The ”Komelon Project” gained attention from around the nation, and is sold in major department stores in other prefectures as well as in Kumamoto. In 2008, it won the highest award (Prize of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries) in the food category in a nationwide contest hosted by Future Farmers of Japan.