Yams or “Satsuma Imo” were first introduced to Japan in the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) in 1604 by the Chinese. They were then introduced in Kyushu in 1609, an area that grows 80% of the total Japanese production.
Ssweet potatoes should not be confused with yams or yama imo/山芋 in Japanese.

They have been recognized in this country for a long time for both their nutritional and pharmaceutical values.

FACTS:

-Season: September~November

-Analytic data (as per 100g):
Energy: 132 kcal
Water: 66.1 g
Proteins: 1.2 g
Carbohydrates: 31.5 g

Inorganic qualities:
Natrium: 4 mg
Potassium: 470 mg
Magnesium: 40 mg
Iron: 0.7 mg
Copper: 0.18 mg
Manganese: 0.44 g

Vitamins:
B1: 0.11mg
C: 29 mg
E: 1.6 mg

Dietary fibers: 2.3 g

HEALTH FACTS:

-Combined with burdock root, or shiitake, or carrot, or spinach, helps combat colds, helps enhance skin health, helps combat lung and intestine cancer.
-Combined with devil’s tongue tuber-elephant foot tuber/konnyku, or hijiki sweet seaweeed, or beansprouts, or apple, helps combat cancer, constipation, obesity, and artery hardening.
-Combined with Judas Ear mushroom, or shiitake, or seaweed, or hijiki sweet seaweed, helps lower blood cholesterol, helps combat obesity and diabetes.
-Combined with strawberries, or lemon, or pimentos, helps combat stress, helps skin rejuvenation and intensifies appetite.

VARIETIES

There are over a hundred species in Japan, but the most popular edible ones (not the ones exclusively used for making shochu) have red skins and light yellow flesh.

Beni Azuma/ベニアズマ, mostly eaten in Eastern Japan. Turns very sweet upon cooking.

Naruto Kintoki/鳴門金時, popular in Western Japan. Considered elegant and sweet.

Tosabeni/土佐紅, also attributed “No 14 value (top)”, is very sweet and is a “brand name” sweet potato.

Cheese cake combination with Tosabeni Sweet Potato!

Manamusume,/愛娘 another “No 14 value” brand sweeet potato.

Gorou Shima Kintoki/五郎島金時, particularly popular as baked sweet potato.

Kougane Sengan/黄金千貫, considered as the top shochu sweet potato.

Tanegashima Mukashi Mitsu Imo/種子島昔蜜芋, a sweet potao with a beautiful orange colour and elegant taste.

Tanegashima Murasaki Imo/種子島紫芋, as above, but with a beautiful purple colour.

Annou Imo/安納いも, rich in carotens, with a beautiful orange colour and very sweet.

Annou Imo cuisine!

Purple Sweet Road/パープルスイートロード, an interesting name for a sweet tasty hybrid.

The same as above as hyokan Japanese jelly!

A favorite “Tanegashima Gold Imo” grown in Taneko Island south of Kyushu. It has the particularity of being red when raw before changing to a rich golden color when cooked. Among other varieties, the violet sweet potatoes are getting increasingly popular.

Tanekoshima sweet potato (deep yellow), “common sweet potato” (light yellow) and Murasaki/Violet potato.

A great combination of the three above as a cold salad with mayonnaise or cream-based dressing.

TIPS:

-Choose specimens with nice color and a “fat/roundish” aspect!
-Plunge yam in cold water as soon as you have cut them. They will not lose their color!
-Boil, bake or steam long enough before taking skin off. Discard skin!
-Leaves can be eaten!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

Tomatoes have appeared on our tables for so long that we have almost forgotten they came from South America. The Spanish and the Portuguese ignored them. The British studied them. The French brought them to Europe under the name of “Love Apple”, a name still existing in Italy. So it is said,…

FACTS:

-Season: All year round for greenhouse tomatoes, June=September for open-air tomatoes

-Analytic data (as per 100g):
Energy: 19 kcal
Water: 94.0 g
Carbohydrates: 4.7 g

Inorganic qualities:
Natrium: 3 mg
Potassium: 210 mg
Magnesium: 9 mg
Phosphorus: 26 mg

Vitamins:
A Beta caroten: 540 microg
B1: 0.05mg
B2: 0.02 mg
B6: 0.08 mg
C: 15 mg

Dietary fibers: 1.0 g

Licopin (Ricopin), Pectin, Luchin (Ruchin).
Licopin is a carotene variety particularly beneficial in fights against allergies and ageing. The Potassium and Vitamin C and Pectin help control cholesterol in blood.
Luchin reinforces capillary veins and arteries.
Recent researches in Germany and China have proven that tomatoes help control high blood pressure.

HEALTH FACTS:

-Combined with Potatoes, or Broccoli, or garlic, or onion, helps combat ageing.
-Combined with cabbage, or chilies, or spinach, helps combat cancer and helps blood flow.
-Combined with lemon, or cauliflower, or pimentoes, or parsley, helps lower blood pressure and improve blood flow.
-Combined with vinegar, or oranges, or apples, or strawberries, helps recovery from illness and injury, helps combat stiff shoulder.

Who said that the Italians look healthier than everybody else? LOL

VARIETIES

“Fruit Tomatoes”

This summer-maturing fruit can be bought all year round with the interesting consequence that tomatoes ripened in winter are sweeter than their summer cousins as they contain less water, earning themselves the name of “fruit tomatoes”, a great oxymoron, if there was one!

Thanks to consumers’ insatiable appetite for novelty, tomatoes are grown into all kinds of size, shape and colour.
Just to cite a few, the following are the most popular in Japan:

“Momotaro Tomatoes”

-Momotaro (after the Japanese “Peach Boy” tale), which becomes “Fruit tomato” in winter.

“Momotaro Tomato/Gold Variety”

“Midi Tomatoes”

-Midi Tomato (sometimes called “Plum tomatoes”), a larger cousin of the “Mini tomato”, is very sweet and very high in nutrients. Its aroma has a particularly long life.

“Italian tomatoes”

-Italian Tomato: mainly used for cooking, it may often come in a comparatively elongated shape.
It contains less water and reveals both large amounts of sweetness and acidity, making it very conducive to long cooking with the extra bonus of actually improving in taste upon heating.

“Sicilian Rouge”, both for cooking and salads.

“Mini Tomatoes”

-Mini Tomato: one-bite sized, it is also called “Petit tomato”. It contains twice as many Vitamin C, and it is very rich in beneficent ingredients.

“Yellow Mini Tomatoes”

-Yellow Mini Tomato: characteristic for a lot of sweetness and very little acidity. Very handy for children who dislike vegetables!

“Ameera Rubbins”

-Ameera Rubbins: with its larger Ammeera tomato, it used to be grown exclusively in Shizuoka Prefecture. They are the sweetest of all, tasting like strawberries, and very firm, making them ideal for decoration, notwithstanding their nutrient value. The smallest variety called “Rubbins” used to be grown by only two farmers near Iwata City!
Recently a yellow version is being grown experimentally.

“Micro Mini Tomatoes”

-Micro Mini Tomatoes: increasingly popular, they are only 8~10 mm and look somewhat like redcurrants. Very tasty with a beautiful acidity, the Japanese use them not only in salads, but also as the final touch on a plate of sashimi!

“Fruit Yellow”, a small variety popular with kids!

“Fruit Gold”, sweet and rich in vitamins!

“Nitakikoma”, a Japanese variety which does not break away even after long cooking.

“Green Zebra”, Japanese name for green heirloom tomato

Heirloom Tomatoes grown in Shizuoka City!

“Green”, stays green when ripe
Great in tenpura!

“Cindy Sweet”, well-balanced and sweet

“Aiko”, Japanese variety. Exists both in yellow and red. Eaten cooked or raw.

“Tomato Berry”, small, sweet and well-balanced.

“Campari”, grown in Hokkaido, Japan, originally from Holland. Fruity!

“Amakko”, similar to “Campari”. Very sweet!

“Piccola Rouge”, Japanese version of an Italian Mini-tomato variety.

“First”. Appears in Winter. Grown in Iwata City, too! Beautiful pointed shape. Juicy!
Also called “Renaissance” in Shizuoka Prefecture.

“Piccola Canaria”, an orange variety of the Piccola.

“Black”, as it is called!

“Kisu”. Beautiful colour and very sweet!

“Zeitaku Tomato”, meaning “Extravagant Tomato” in Japanese! Fruity, juicy and sweet!

“Guppi”, a tasty tomato apt for cooking.

“Carrot Tomato”. High in carotens, taste similar to carrot. Appreciated raw.

“Orange Banana” from Russia! Very sweet!

“Evergreen”. Versatile, can be eaten raw, cooked or pickled.

“Strawberry Tomato”. A cousin of tomatoes. God balance between sweetness and acidity.
Also used as decoration.

“Tokutani Tomato”. Fruit tomato, especially grown in Shikoku Island. Brand Tomato. Very expensive!

Many more varieties are regularly imported!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

There are vast treasures to explore for vegetarians and vegans in Japanese gastronomy.
Once such pleasure (rhyme with treasure) is Kinpira/金平!
Here is a recipe that can be built on at will depending on the available vegetables: Burdock, Lotus Root & Carrot Kinpira/gobou, Renkon to Ninjin no Kinpira/牛蒡・蓮根・人参の金平!

INGREDIENTS: 4 people~

-Burdock root: 1
-Carrot: 1/2
-Lotus root: 4~5 cm long piece
-Grated fresh ginger: 1 teaspoon
-Spices of your choice (include chili pepper!)
–Vegan Dashi: 1 cup
-Sesame oil: 2 teaspoons
-Mirin/sweet Japanese sake: 3 tablespoons
-Soy sauce 1+1/2 Tablespoons.

RECIPE:

-Clean the burdock root under running clear water, cut out in appropriate-sized thin sticks. Drain well. Peel carrot and cut in same size as burdock root. Peel the lotus roots, slice into 5 mm thick pieces, clean in fresh cold water and drain well.

-In a frypan (if possible, non-stick), pour the sesame oil, drop well-drained vegetables and fry.
When the lotu root pieces have started changing color, add dashi, spices of your choice, grated ginger, mirin and soy sauce, and fry on a low fire (10 minutes).
Once the juices have almost reduced stop fire.

Can be served hot, lukewarm or cold!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi