A day for "purin - pudding", aka caramel custard

Every month on the 25th, Japan celebrates Pudding Day プリンの日, a small anniversary created by Ohayo Dairy Products. The date comes from a bit of cheerful goroawase (pun on how numbers can be read): 2/25 can be read as ni‑kko‑ri, the warm smile that appears when enjoying a good purin.

In order to write this post, I was digging into the history behind the Japanese word “pudding” and ended up writing a whole other post about why Japanese pudding is not like the pudding most English speakers envisage. See why in my previous post! So most of the time I refer to it as "purin" as "pudding" is very misleading for an English speaker. The "purin" in Japan is more like a caramel custard.

Regardless, thanks to Ohayo dairy creating an officially recognized anniversary for "purin", the 25th of every month is now "Purin Day". A great excuse to indulge in caramel custard! The one in this photo is from a little cafe in Kawagoe, offering caramel custard served Showa Retro style.