How much buzz is there in 式 of 手打ち式 udon noodles?


A lady in front of me in a line to the register had a pack of udon noodles in
her basket. It read:

> うどん・手打ち式

How much buzz is there in such a phrase? Is it comparable to using 手打ち風? Or
could it have some merit to it?

Also, I assume that a real hand-made udon makers would simply write 手打ちうどん.
Please correct me, if I am wrong.




Basically, we are talking legal hype here.

「[手打]{てう}ち[式]{しき}うどん」 (= "handmade- ** _style_** udon") is just the best-
sounding and most-appealing name to the consumers that you can legally give to
machine-made udon.

If the udon were actually handmade, it would definitely be named 「手打ちうどん」
without using 「式」 as you stated so that its naturally higher price would
effortlessly be justified.

「～～式」 is a terribly vague "suffix" describing what style/form/origin a product
or service represents. Most consumers would be aware of the inaccuracy of the
description in their heads, but it gives us a certain level of comfort and
appeal that is enough to make us feel that it might actually be close to the
real thing.

「～～[風]{ふう}」 is one step even more vague and unreliable. It would only appeal
to those who know close to nothing about the real thing. I often order the
「ミラノ風ドリア」 at Saizeriya because I like how it tastes, but not because it tastes
like doria made and served in Milan. I have never even been to Italy! From
that name, however, I just "know" that the dish must be pretty much a Japanese
(or Saizeriya's) creation.




Basically, we are talking legal hype here.

「[手打]{てう}ち[式]{しき}うどん」 (= "handmade- ** _style_** udon") is just the best-
sounding and most-appealing name to the consumers that you can legally give to
machine-made udon.

If the udon were actually handmade, it would definitely be named 「手打ちうどん」
without using 「式」 as you stated so that its naturally higher price would
effortlessly be justified.

「～～式」 is a terribly vague "suffix" describing what style/form/origin a product
or service represents. Most consumers would be aware of the inaccuracy of the
description in their heads, but it gives us a certain level of comfort and
appeal that is enough to make us feel that it might actually be close to the
real thing.

「～～[風]{ふう}」 is one step even more vague and unreliable. It would only appeal
to those who know close to nothing about the real thing. I often order the
「ミラノ風ドリア」 at Saizeriya because I like how it tastes, but not because it tastes
like doria made and served in Milan. I have never even been to Italy! From
that name, however, I just "know" that the dish must be pretty much a Japanese
(or Saizeriya's) creation.

