What a way to celebrate a birthday.

In Japan, some terms get lost in translation, with words from other languages having a different meaning in Japanese, like “mansion“, which means “apartment“, “service“, which means “freebie” and “smart“, used to describe someone with a slim body.

On the other hand, there are words that have the same meaning in Japanese as they do in English, like “pizza“, “sofa” and “homo“, the latter of which is short for “homosexual” and a slur that some members of the LGBTQIA+ community have reclaimed in recent years.

So if “homo” means the same thing here as it does overseas, why is there a sausage brand called “Homo” in Japan? Well, according to Maruzen, the company behind the product, the word “homo” in Homo Sausage comes from the English word “homogenise”, referring to the way the sausages are processed.

This explanation is as much of a surprise to locals as well as foreigners, given that the English word “homogenise”, known as “kinshitsuka” in Japanese, is far from common knowledge. Either way, Homo Sausage is celebrating its 70th birthday this year, and to celebrate, it’s releasing a new version containing cheese.

Maruzen says, “We use a mild and melt-in-the-mouth cheese that goes well with the light taste of Homo sausage”, and if you’re wondering what Homo sausage usually contains, it’s a mixture of minced fish, mainly walleye cod, with the addition of tuna to give it a rich fish flavour.

The cheesy, fishy Homo sausage was perfected through trial and error, with a variety of cheeses tested in order to find the perfect balance between sausage and cheese. It’ll be available in three-piece bundles, with each sausage weighing 70 grams (2.5 ounces).

▼ Frying them lightly allows you to enjoy the melty cheese flavour even more.

If you prefer your Homo sausage sans cheese, the company will still be selling its classic variety in three and five piece bundles.

▼ There are 23.4 grams of protein in the three-pack…

▼ …and 39 grams in the five-pack.

The Homo Sausage Three-Piece Bundle with Cheese can be purchased at stores around Japan from 4 March, at a recommended retail price of 357 yen (US$2.42).

We love cheese at any time of the year, so we think this is a great way to celebrate a 70th birthday. And if they need an idea for their next anniversary, a Wiener pizza tie-up could be on the cards!

Source, images: PR Times
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