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Don’t worry everybody, we’re fine. We didn’t suffer a stroke halfway through writing this article’s title, and the RocketNews24 offices haven’t been violently seized by half-literate chimpanzees with a penchant for prose (we make a protection payment of a bunch of bananas each week to the simian mafia to prevent just such a thing).

Spaghetti-flavored popsicles really do exist in Japan, though, and we decided to melt one down to see what would happen.

Longtime Japanese snack buffs have probably already guessed that these pasta pops come to us courtesy of Akagi Nyugyo, the makers of the Garigari-kun line of popsicle/shaved ice hybrids. While the Garigari-kun line is usually bound by common sense with flavors like pineapple or chocolate, in 2012 its makers decided, seemingly as a gag, to do a limited run of corn chowder-flavored frozen treats. Haha, ridiculous right?

Actually, they went on to be such a huge hit that they quickly sold out. Emboldened by their success, in 2013 Akagi Nyugyo released cream stew-flavored Garigari-kun, which replaced the corn chowder version’s kernels of the vegetable with little pieces of potato.

Now comes the newest entrée-inspired Garigari-kun, Napolitan flavor. For those who haven’t had the dish, Napolitan is a pasta dish made with ketchup, onion, and green peppers. It may not be particularly authentic, but it is popular in Japan. It’s basically their version of the West’s spicy tuna sushi hand rolls: a locally-skewed image of what many imagine foreigners eat.

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Back when we tried cream stew Garigari-kun, the representative from Akagi Nyugyo jokingly reminded us, “Don’t heat it up before you eat it!” We promptly ignored his warning, and enjoyed mixing the melted result with a bowl of white rice. So once again, as soon as we got our hands on some Napolitan Garigari-kun, we popped one of those frozen suckers in the microwave for two minutes.

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As we waited, the office filled with a sweet, almost strawberry-like smell. But then the timer dinged and we opened the microwave door, and were met by the unmitigated scent of creamy tomato.

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Since drinking straight from the bowl would be uncouth, we poured the liquid into the official RocketNews24 office shot glass.

▼ Seen here with our resident mecha ace/food correspondent Meg

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▼ Down the hatch!

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So, how was it?

▼ “Sweeeeet!”

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And we don’t mean sweet as in “awesome,” but sweet as in “dessert.” Although the melted Garigari-kun smelled like a bowl of honest to goodness soup, its flavor is more like tomato jam.

The sensation is by no means unpleasant, even if it’s the sort of thing we’re happy just with a taste of, as opposed to having a whole bar (or bowl) to ourselves. Make no mistake, though, this is more spaghetti turned into candy than frozen pasta on a stick..

In other words, whether you decide to melt down your Napolitan Garigari-kun or not, it’s a better choice for those times you want to indulge your sweet tooth than when you’re just too lazy to actually cook a pot of pasta.

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Photos: RocketNews24
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