We call it bento astro turf. Used as color contrast food separators and craft grass.
photo via JunkDrawerLoveEtsy
available here
I used to only be able to find these in Japanese bento box lunches and sushi or sashimi trays. I'd save them with care, wash and reuse them. Many years ago, I used my stash making Easter cards with some cute bunnies made from cloth my mom had found. I think I might still have the sample one in my hoard some where!
Originally used by the Japanese to separate food in a lunch bento in a restaurant, which usually is comprised of many delightful bites of food in different shapes and form or "to go" bento box lunch from a Japanese grocery store or their tray of sushi or sashimi.
Before I had food allergies my favorite thing to order at Japanese restaurants for lunch was their bento special because it's like getting samples of many different types of dishes that I would never bother to make at home for myself. Can you imagine how much time and pots and pans it would take to make the bento below:
Typical Restaurant Bento Box
This restuarant doesn't use plastic grass, but the traditional shiso leaf
or perilla beefsteak leaf that are said to be anti bacterial
via google images
Here's a photo of a bento box I'd usually get from a Japanese market:
photo via wikipedia
I found a traditional bento using Japanese astro turf!
I've never been able to find one that serves a bento box for dinner.
photo via wikipedia
A little history about Japanese sushi grass called "haran":
Just like we take our lunches to work, parks, parties, picnics, etc. The Japanese have done so too decoratively since the Edo period of 1603.
My Grandmothers have grown and used the shiso leaves for separating different kinds of sushi and sashimi, since I was a child. They grew both the green and purple shiso.
Supposedly, many of the leaves used when cut release a helpful preserving agent and they knew that it helped food stay more fresh longer. I'm not sure if they can be eaten, but my Grandmothers' told me the shiso helped in digestion when eaten with sashimi, but said nothing about them being anti bacterial, although it would help keep food separated and therefore less likely to mix anything.
Plastic substitutes came into use around the mid-1960s to lower costs in Japanese markets. Info. from The Japan Times and wiki.
photo via JunkDrawerLoveEtsy
available here
Below is the email story from an Etsy buyer:
I have been looking for somewhere I could get these grass dividers
locally forever! I live in California as well and could only find them
from china or something. I started doing bento for my boyfriend and I to
loose weight :)
How fun! Making bentos takes a lot of time and energy if you ask me, but they do look like fun and definitely creative! It seems to have become a craze and there are so many bento box accessories out there these days to make some amazing lunch presentations! Here are some sample bento lunches below via google images:
photo via modSblog
via SuperForest
Will you be joining the bento lunch art movement? It does look inspiring and fun, but I think I'd rather eat it than make it! However I spend a lot of time just trying to find tasty gluten free organic foods and would be really happy just to find an organic restaurant or even prepared gf organic frozen meals for a break from cooking, especially this hot summer!
photo via JunkDrawerLoveEtsy
available here
Saying Goodbye: I do have my own stash of these and have a plan for them for next year's Easter cards, but I'm so happy that other people enjoy using them in their bento boxes and crafts projects. I have used them as a different kind of twist in mini Easter baskets and care packages because they do accent and bring out certain items and draw the eye because they universal.
What I Learned:
1. I do miss a good bento box lunch! Maybe that's why I bought so much sushi grass? Maybe I miss that family project day making cards with sushi grass?
2. I think I will go digging around in my hoard for some shiso seeds to grow in the garden. I love their different taste, colors and love to use them as mini wraps and in salads.
3. I'm over hoarding sushi grass, at least not until Easter.
photo via VintageToGoEasy, Red Ball deer available here
Thank you Etsy buyer for sending your story to inspire mine! Let me know, if it helps you to lose weight and how it works. Plus I'd love to see one of your bento box lunches!
Thank you Etsy for all your help with my Hoarder Rehab and for 829 items finding new lives and better homes!
Thank you US, France, AU, UK, Taiwan, Ukraine, Moldova, Canada, Germany, China, Russia, and many others for your visits and taking part in my HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things!
Click on the shop names to visit my hoard listed daily: HoarderRehab with 182 items , The Destiny of Things-193 items , VintageToGoEasy - 168 items and now JunkDrawerLove - 164 items! Maybe you'll find something to take home and share your story too! Thanks for looking!
Click on the shop names to visit my hoard listed daily: HoarderRehab with 182 items , The Destiny of Things-193 items , VintageToGoEasy - 168 items and now JunkDrawerLove - 164 items! Maybe you'll find something to take home and share your story too! Thanks for looking!
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2. To be used to make tooth jewelry: Plastic Tooth Locket to Sterling Jewelry: The Destiny of Things, Story LXXXIII
3. Craft cards on a train ride: Train Travel Card Memory Maker Kit: The Destiny of Things, Story #133
Most Read Story of the Day, Week, Month and All Time: My Louis Vuitton Collection: the end of my collection is the beginning for someone else. The last piece of my LV collection, my 80s LV gold cornered wallet is available here at The Destiny of Things!
"A champion runner doesn't even know he's in a race. He runs because he loves it."---Anonymous
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