HITACHINAKA, Ibaraki – Golden sweet potato slices glisten in the sun as shipping season for the delicacy enters full swing in Ibaraki Prefecture, the nation's largest dried sweet potato producer.
Once harvested, the potatoes are aged for over a month then steamed, sliced and mechanically dried before being sun-dried for two days at Kawamata Nosan, an agricultural company in the city of Hitachinaka that specializes in the snack's production. Preparations are scheduled to continue through early March.
Sweet potatoes are said to become more fragrant and brighter in color when exposed to sunlight.
"We have received many mail-in requests for our product, spurred on by the increase of time people spend at home amid the coronavirus crisis," said company President Shoichi Kawamata. We'd like to get our tasty dried sweet potatoes to the people."
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