Novel Japanese Innovations Encourage Cooking

It’s hard to get kids to see the joy in cooking when they could just drive through McDonald’s and get a happy meal with a toy for no effort whatsoever. In Japan, there are whole lines of entertaining cooking tools that are great for even big people taking on the skillet. CScout Japan profiles several of them, including a sushi roller, a mini sandwich maker, and one fun contraption that looks like a game of Mouse Trap:

Somen (thin noodles eaten chilled during the summer months), when served nagashi-style, are sent down a bamboo chute. During the course of the journey they cool, become sprinkled with toppings and are picked up with chopsticks. This fun, though elaborate to set up, dish would be served in a festive group setting. Bandai’s version, which looks like a children’s game or a miniature water slide, manages to bring “nagashi soumen” to the dinner table.

[via CScout Japan]