hold the mayo drops!

the japanese have a frightening love affair with mayonnaise.

their blt's are swimming in it. the pizza options include the popular chili beans, tuna, and mayonnaise pizza. they drink mayo margaritas. they put mayo in their onigiri. and there is, in fact, a restaurant in tokyo – mayonnaise kitchen – that uses mayo in every one of it's dishes, including the desserts. (the restaurant's been so popular that they've opened a second location, in tachikawa.)

according to the japan mayonnaise and dressing makers association, japanese consumed 1.65 kg of mayonnaise per person in 2006 (down a bit from a peak of 1.90 kg in 2000.) that's almost three and a half pounds of mayo per person. three and a half. pounds.

and then there's this.

at last saturday's disney on classic concert, on the backstage snack table – next to the green tea and the meiji chocolates, behind the pocky and the pretz – was a small tin of mayonnaize drops. mayonnaize drops. mayo flavored candy. candy. mayo candy. candy that tastes like mayonnaise. candy.

i'm not kidding.

they look just like lemon drops and no, i didn't taste one. but i'm bringing a can home in case you're interested.