Let's overturn the conventional wisdom of ranch sweets.

Every year, I have the privilege of serving as a part-time lecturer at Meiji Gakuin University. It feels like fate that I get to lecture on the Shirokane campus, where my own grandfather spent his junior high school years over 100 years ago.

The course "Special Topics in Business Administration: Innovation and Creativity" evaluates students based on the following percentages: 30% for weekly quizzes, 30% for class participation, and 40% for the final exam. Due to my own personal situation—specifically, that I can't remember everyone's names if too many students enroll—I made the requirements significantly stricter this spring semester to reduce the number of students. Over 50 students who didn't give in to arguments like "Isn't it only natural that students who don't take it seriously fail?" joined us for the six-month summer semester.

The topic of discussion was "How to Challenge Conventional Wisdom." It's a methodology for finding that "aha!" moment when the usual approaches just won't cut it. The final exam question was: "Develop a completely new type of farm-based dessert." No matter which dairy farm you visit across Japan, you'll find the same soft-serve ice cream and cheesecake. How could they break this pattern? It was a test of ingenuity.

Natsuki Unemi came up with "Edible Soap." Based on "information found online" stating that soap made from milk (milk butter) is harmless if ingested, she proposed creating soap shaped like sweets that you'd instinctively want to eat. While it invites questions like "Is that even a dessert?" or "Is eating soap really safe?", this approach was uniquely different from everyone else's. Most importantly, I thought, "If cute, additive-free, milk-based soap shaped like desserts were displayed at the farm, I'd definitely buy it!" That's why I gave it a high score.

Ayaka Tsutsui's answer was "Milk Shaved Ice." She likely thought the "current norm" to overturn was "farms only sell rich, indulgent sweets." Her insight was: to truly savor the essence of "freshly squeezed raw milk," there must be a fresher way to enjoy it. Her inspiration? The Korean-born dessert "Sorbing" (snow ice), trending in Harajuku. It involves shaving frozen milk into shaved ice, known for its light, powdery snow-like texture. Her proposal: applying this technique could create a new "truly ranch-like dessert."

Beyond this, Mr. Iwasaki Kaichi's "Cow Dung Chocolate" and Mr. Kawai Yuki's "Cow's Teat Ice Cream" conveyed a determination to avoid "commonplace answers" at all costs. Mr. Hayashi Reiji's entry, "My Farm Sweets: Raising a Calf Myself to Taste Its Milk," which he requested be featured in this column, surely resulted from much agonizing thought. Grading each entry while picturing the students' faces was incredibly stimulating.

By the way, if any ranch operators nationwide are interested, please do get in touch. I'd be delighted to share everyone's ideas. At the same time, I believe that even if the student is the creator, excellent ideas deserve proper compensation. So, if you decide to adopt any, please keep that in mind (laugh).

What I wanted to convey to the students through this test was: "There are no right answers to the problems you'll face in society." Instead, there should be an infinite number of "effective solutions," so "it's tough, but let's work hard to find them!" If even one person remembers this someday, somewhere...

Now then. Actually, the request to "develop unprecedented ranch sweets" was a challenge I myself received from Senbonmatsu Ranch in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture. While setting up that "there's no single right answer!" disclaimer, I'll share what kind of project we came up with next time.

Please, enjoy!