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Hooked After One Bite?! The Sweet and Sticky 'Nagaimo' Yam from the Rich Earth of Yubari
Nagaimo in Yubari?!
"They grow nagaimo in Yubari?" Many people might be surprised to hear this.
In fact, it seems that 'nagaimo' is a crop often grown in parallel by the same farmers who cultivate Yubari's specialty, the 'Yubari Melon'!
Yubari's nagaimo is the original long yam produced in Hokkaido. It's a rare delicacy with a taste that will get you hooked after just one bite, yet it has limited distribution in the market.
In the current giveaway campaign, a collaboration between Yubari City and Domingo, we are giving away 'Nagaimo' that has been cultivated for many years in Yubari with a special focus on 'flavor'!
This article will introduce nagaimo cultivation in Yubari City.
We spoke with Mr. Kengo Ota, a farmer who grows Yubari Melons, nagaimo, and other crops, and who was also featured in our Yubari Melon article.
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A Sweet, Tender, and Juicy Summer Tradition! The Making of the 'Yubari Melon,' a Gift of Meticulous Handwork
Characteristics of Yubari-Grown Nagaimo
The nagaimo grown in Yubari is characterized by its sweetness and strong stickiness.
Mr. Ota explains that it's the quality of Yubari's 'soil' that creates this sweetness and stickiness.
Most of the farmland in Yubari City is covered with Tarumae volcanic ash soil. This soft and fluffy volcanic ash soil is ideal for the nagaimo to grow straight and long underground.
The most unique feature of Yubari's soil is the layer of clay soil beneath the volcanic ash. Thanks to this hard and sticky clay soil, the nagaimo develops a firm and moderately hard texture.
"Because they grow in hard soil, the yams themselves can get bumpy on the surface, but they try to grow strong to overcome that hard soil, which makes them firm, sweet, and sticky. We prioritize a delicious taste over a perfect shape."
When the Domingo editorial team got to try Yubari-grown nagaimo for the first time, we found it to be an incredibly delicious and robust yam. Eaten raw, its stickiness stood out, and when cooked, it became fluffy and tender. It was sweet no matter how it was prepared.
A Very Delicate Task! A Look Inside the Nagaimo Harvest!
So, do you know how the nagaimo you usually see at the supermarket is harvested?
"The nagaimo harvest will be over by mid-November, so now's your chance if you want to see it!" Mr. Takahashi from JA Yubari told us, so we rushed over to Yubari City to observe the harvest.
First, the soil is dug up with heavy machinery. The machine moves with delicate and graceful precision to avoid damaging the nagaimo in the ground.
From the excavated soil, each nagaimo is carefully located and harvested by hand to avoid any damage. You might think it's a rough job because they use heavy machinery, but it's actually a very delicate process.
From operating the machinery to harvesting and sorting the yams into containers, the teamwork was incredible. We were simply in awe of everyone's power and skill.
The nagaimo harvested this way is extremely rare. It is said that it is only available at the A-COOP within Yubari City or for gift-giving purposes.
To maintain freshness, the gift-grade nagaimo are individually wrapped in paper with the soil still on them. They are then packed with rice husks, which help maintain the proper humidity and temperature, before being stored and shipped.
■JA Yubari City Online Shop
*Please note: Orders for the 2021 harvest of nagaimo have now closed.
So, How is Nagaimo Grown?!
What does 'nagaimo' look like as it grows in the field, and how is it harvested?
Mr. Ota says, "Compared to growing melons, it's like child's play," but cultivating nagaimo with a focus on 'flavor' still involves many steps.
Let's take a look at the process!
■Late March - Cutting and Drying Seed Yams
This is the process of cutting the 'seed yams' into uniform sizes. This is also when the work for melons begins, making it a busy time of year.
■Late April to Mid-May - Sprouting and Acclimatization
Sprouting is the process of getting the seed yams to germinate. To ensure the nagaimo grow strong and healthy, Mr. Ota doesn't plant the seed yams directly in the field to sprout. Instead, he first controls the temperature to encourage sprouting, a process that takes 20 days.
After that comes acclimatization, where the temperature of the seedlings is gradually lowered to match the field's temperature. Just like humans, plants can get sick from sudden temperature changes.
■Mid-May to Late May - Planting
The sprouted seed yams are finally planted in the field. To grow large and delicious nagaimo, the field needs to be tilled to a depth of over 1 meter.
■Mid-June - Staking
Stakes are set up to ensure the nagaimo get even sunlight. One stake is placed for every four plants. Since Mr. Ota cultivates about 24,000 nagaimo plants, he sets up about 6,000 stakes.
Mr. Ota says it's very moving to see the nagaimo vines climb up the stakes, reaching for the sky.
"Nagaimo are really smart. If you give them a stake, they'll wrap around it on their own. They know they can grow better that way than crawling on the ground. I've been a farmer for a long time, and I'm still amazed by that life force."
■Mid-July & Mid-August - Hand Weeding
Weeds growing near the nagaimo are removed by hand twice. At this point, the underground nagaimo are about 10 cm long.
From here, the nagaimo part begins to grow rapidly. In the month from mid-August to mid-September, they grow to 60-70 cm. Over the following month, they grow another 10 cm, becoming thicker and more delicious.
■Mid-October - Vine Cutting and Stake Removal
Around mid-October, when the nagaimo are fully grown, the vines with their yellowed leaves are cut, and the stakes are removed in preparation for harvest.
■Early November - Harvest
After the vines are cut and the nagaimo's growth has completely stopped, they are left to mature in the field for about 10 days before the harvest finally begins! Yubari's nagaimo are 100% autumn-harvested.
Nagaimo cultivation is fundamentally done in between the work for Yubari Melons. Mr. Ota says that balancing the two is the difficult part. Both melon and nagaimo cultivation seem incredibly demanding on their own, so one can't help but have immense respect for the farmers who manage both.
Nagaimo Farmer Mr. Ota's Recommended Way to Eat It!
Mr. Ota, who focuses on 'flavor' when growing his nagaimo, recommends eating it as "tororo" (grated yam)!
"My favorite way to eat it is as tororo! It's the most well-known way, but because it's so simple, there's no way to alter it, which means you can really experience the sweetness and strong stickiness that characterize Yubari nagaimo. Of course, it's also delicious fried or grilled.
This summer, we had little rain and many hot days across Hokkaido, but the nagaimo turned out delicious this year too! Please give Yubari's nagaimo a try!"
Some images courtesy of JA Yubari City
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