Yakiimo: Baked Sweet Potatoes a Treat in Colder Weather

Slow Food

Yakiimo or baked sweet potatoes are a favorite food in Japan, particularly in autumn and winter. The tubers are baked slowly at a low temperature, makng them sweet, soft, and moist. Baked in their skins, they are enjoyed as a healthy, filling snack.

Sweet potatoes, which originated in Central America, arrived in Japan in the seventeenth century and were initially grown in Satsuma Province (now Kagoshima Prefecture), from which their Japanese name satsumaimo derives. In their baked form of yakiimo, they first became a hit food in 1793 in Edo (now Tokyo).

Older people especially associate baked sweet potatoes with sellers who make their way slowly through neighborhoods in trucks, advertising their wares to the traditional call of “yaaaakiiiiimooooo,” sung with its elongated vowels. These vendors are less common nowadays, however, as a range of supermarkets and convenience stores have got into the business of selling yakiimo.

(Originally written in English. Banner photo © Pixta.)