Japan's Sweet Potato Craze

Mar 23, 2024 | News On Japan

TOKYO - The "Sweet Potato Expo" held last month brought together 33 select stores from across Japan, where innovative sweet potato desserts were born, thanks to breeding advancements that have produced varieties with higher sugar content and a velvety texture.

Highlighting the expo was the "Yaki-imo Grand Prix," where a popular store from Tokyo stole the spotlight.

Japan's largest festival dedicated to baked sweet potatoes and sweet potato desserts, this year's expo saw participation from 33 stores nationwide, attracting around 70,000 visitors over six days.

"Oimo Biyori," a popular sweet potato dessert specialty store with four locations in Nagano Prefecture, was among the crowd's favorites.

Oimo Biyori - Store Owner: We combine specialty cream cheese with aged baked sweet potato paste to create a cream, then caramelize granulated sugar with a torch."

Moreover, a cake made with sweet potato cream using the Beniharuka variety, known for its sticky texture, was a Sweet Potato Expo exclusive: "Honey Sweet Potato Brûlée Double Color Mont Blanc."

Other innovative sweet potato desserts included a sandwich from a baked sweet potato cafe in Gunma Prefecture, using Kinmitsu sweet potatoes with a sugar content of over 70 degrees, and a mochi dessert topped with two kinds of sweet potato paste from a chain of sweets shops in Kansai.

Visitor: "The combination of the sweet and savory mitarashi sauce with the sweetness of the potato was delicious."

These new flavors challenge the traditional notion of sweet potatoes, thanks to the emergence of new varieties.

Tracking the Evolution of Sweet Potato Desserts: New Varieties Emerge

"Shirohorori" boasts a potato-like whiteness, while "Fukumurasaki," known for its vivid purple flesh and refined sweetness, also has a wine-like acidity.

Introduced last year, the new variety "Kuri Kaguya" shines like the moon, with a sweetness resembling chestnuts. Stores in Suginami Ward are leveraging these varieties' unique characteristics to offer sweet potato desserts.

OIMOcafe Zenpukuji - Store Owner, Kazuki Yamada (42): "With the increase in sweet potato varieties and advancements in storage methods, we now have sweet potatoes that can be enjoyed year-round."

Sweet potato breeding has been actively promoted by the government, growing from 33 varieties in 2000 to 131 today, with higher sugar content and varying textures from fluffy to creamy, making them adaptable for various desserts.

Customer (in their 20s): "Initially, we ate it by hand, right? There's this stereotype about baked sweet potatoes. But it was easy to eat with a fork and knife."

The most popular dessert uses "Musashi Kintoki," a variety with less fiber and a moist texture, to create a filling with cream, honey, rum, and butter, which is then baked. The accompanying sauce is also made from sweet potatoes.

Yamada: "It tastes like baked sweet potato honey, used instead of caramel."

Topped with vanilla ice cream, the painstakingly crafted "Honey Sweet Potato" is complete.

Source: ANN

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