Strange pink food

I’d like to think of myself as an adventurous eater. I am usually willing to try pretty much anything at least once. But in Japan, there was one food which I could never give much of a chance: kamaboko.

Kamaboko is a thin fish cake usually served as a garnish on bowls of noodle soup or with a rice ball. Kamaboko do not have a particularly strong flavor. Instead, their purpose is mostly to aid the presentation, helping the dish look more appealing. Kamaboko are quite pretty, often cut into the shape of a flower or a swirl – and outlined in pink.

But that color is exactly why I could not eat them.

I always wondered – why are kamaboko so pink? Is it some chemical that gives this garnish such a deep, vibrant color? And how is the pink so perfectly separated from the inner white part of the kamaboko?

I just couldn’t eat a food that made me think about it so much.

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