Kaitsuka Kuradashi Roasted Sweet Potatoes: An Indulgent Ibaraki Specialty

My recommended Ibaraki souvenir is Kuradashi Yakiimo—cellar-matured roasted sweet potatoes—from Kaitsuka. Ibaraki is famous for natto and lotus root, but its sweet potatoes and peanuts are excellent as well.

What Are Kaitsuka’s Kuradashi Roasted Sweet Potatoes?

Kaitsuka uses a sweet-potato variety called Beni Tenshi. Packages are available in quantities such as 500 grams, one kilogram, and two kilograms. Refrigerated products keep for around one week, while frozen versions can keep for roughly a year.

At the time of this account, 500 grams cost a little under ¥1,000 and two kilograms around ¥3,500. Compared with an ordinary ¥300 roasted sweet potato, they are expensive for everyday eating, but ideal as a special gift. Refrigerated products have a short shelf life and frozen products need to go directly into a freezer, so they may not suit someone you have only just met. On the other hand, a premium box of roasted sweet potatoes creates far more conversation than another box of baked cookies.

I bought mine directly from a store while visiting Ibaraki, but online ordering is also available.

Why Kaitsuka’s Roasted Sweet Potatoes Are Recommended

They completely changed my image of sweet potatoes. I learned about Kaitsuka when a friend in Ibaraki served its dried sweet potatoes with tea. Their flavor surprised me so much that I stopped at a shop on the way home and bought roasted sweet potatoes as well.

The dried potatoes were excellent, but the roasted version was even more impressive—almost like eating a sweet-potato confection. Ordinary yakiimo is often described as fluffy and starchy. Kaitsuka’s is dense, moist, and almost sticky, with a texture as smooth as carefully strained puree.

Ibaraki dried sweet potatoes are often formal gifts, and Kaitsuka’s products in particular are treated almost like a premium brand. Popular items can sell out.

When visiting friends, I sometimes worry that another guest will bring the same gift. Kaitsuka Kuradashi Yakiimo is unlikely to overlap. Because it is essentially a natural sweet potato, it is also suitable for households with young children. My own children eat it happily and immediately ask for more.

Adding butter or margarine makes it taste even more like sweet-potato pie. It is also delicious partially frozen, like sweet-potato ice cream, or served with vanilla ice cream as an easy home parfait.

Other serving ideas include pairing it with warabi mochi, kuromitsu, and kinako, or adding it to pancakes with butter and maple syrup. Its thick texture can be used almost like sweet-bean paste. The natural fiber also makes it appealing to many health-conscious recipients.

I now buy the boxed premium version as a reward for myself whenever I visit my friend in Ibaraki. Perhaps the prospect of eating it has even increased the frequency of my visits. The main shop is in Kasumigaura, while another convenient location is in a commercial facility near Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express.

The one disadvantage is weight: unlike dry baked sweets, roasted potatoes make luggage heavier. Yet the flavor more than justifies the effort. On the train home, I always struggle against the temptation to open the package. The potatoes are so sweet and syrupy that they can make your hands sticky, so waiting until home—or eating them with a spoon—is sensible.

I enjoy the first potato simply, breaking it open and eating it directly as classic yakiimo. Later pieces become desserts after the children are asleep, enjoyed slowly while watching recorded television. Sweet, comforting, and free of unnecessary additives, they are an especially welcome treat for tired parents and anyone who deserves a quiet reward.

Beni Tenshi Premium Roasted Sweet Potatoes Product Info, Expiration Date, Manufacturer