Japan is known as the land of vending machines. This is correct. It's mostly just drink vending machines in absolutely every corner of the country, but there are some unique vending machines as well. I've seen a few ice cream vending machines, which I have also seen in the US, but this was the first farm vending machine I've found, which is pretty exciting. This picture shows a giant egg with たまご(tamago, egg) and I think 直売(chokubai, direct selling) written on the side. If that's not eye catching I don't know what is. However, the egg is actually just a storage place for some plastic trays of some sort and the egg vending machine is actually the building behind it.
たまご is written in a few other places, but I think it written on the egg is the best marketing strategy. This egg vending machine is along the highway, so you need big signs for people to notice. The building/vending machine itself is temperature controlled, which is probably a good thing for those hot Japanese summers. You may also notice the piles of snow nearby. The only reason there isn't more snow is because it got above 4C(41F) for the first time in almost two months. Given this, it is possible they heat the place in winter to keep the eggs from exploding. When I raised chickens back in middle school, on below freezing days I had to collect eggs more than once a day because otherwise they would freeze and explode.
Inside the shed, there is a variety of eggs to choose from. I think 4 different varieties, each from different breeds of chickens/different qualities (my reading skills aren't that great but that's my guess). Eggs in Japan are sold in tens, unlike the typical dozens in America. Why do Americans sell their eggs in dozens anyway? Humans have an affinity for tens so it's kind of a wonder we don't sell eggs in tens. There is also the confusing bags of 7 eggs, which is definitely a new count and mode of selling eggs I have never seen before.
I went for the 徳用卵(tokuyou tamago, economical eggs) which apparently have problems with "size, color, shape, or unevenness" and are recommended for bentos. To buy eggs, you insert the proper amount of 100￥coins into the machine then push the button of the eggs you want and the door pops open. Each carton this week had a huge egg, which is pretty exciting for me as someone who used to raise chickens. Huge egg means double yolk usually, which is just fun. According to the information slip in the carton, it is safe to eat these raw until a certain date. I do not eat raw eggs, but if that is your thing, I definitely recommend these eggs.
I've been making tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette) lately, so I decided to go for it and get a delightfully rectangular tamagoyaki pan. You can make tamagoyaki in a normal frying pan, but this does make nicely sized ones. Plus I can use the square pan for other things, it's still a small pan after all. My special vending machine eggs deserve the proper tamagoyaki pan treatment.
The big egg was indeed a double yolk egg! To make tamagoyaki, typically soy sauce and sugar are added. You can also add dashi, but I didn't do that this time. Unfortunately my final product didn't look great because apparently I can't manage tamagoyaki with cooking chopsticks (don't worry I still ate it, was delicious for my bento). However, the next day I tried again and it turned out BEAUTIFUL. Tamagoyaki pan really does make the difference, and is everything I needed for my vending machine eggs.
留言