Yasuda Town’s Mango Daifuku

 

Yasuda Town’s new dessert,
Mango Daifuku

  Mango Daifuku (named Anta-no-shiroi-yume) is a new dessert being sold to represent Yasuda Town. We interviewed the head of the Yasuda Town Office’s Economic Development Department, Kazunori Teshima, and asked him about Mango Daifuku and the process of growing mangoes.

Why did you choose to sell mangoes in Yasuda Town?
   Yasuda Town is known as the birthplace of greenhouse horticulture, and for a long time we were very successful with the harvesting and selling of eggplants. However, in recent years the market price of eggplants has waned, and the price of fuel has seen a marked increase. Due to these tightening economic conditions, we decided to grow something in addition to eggplants-our old mainstay-and in 2009 we started a trial growth of mangoes, which have a relatively high market value.

What are your prospects for the future?
   It takes quite a while until mangoes can be harvested, and as a result this year is our first harvest from the initial batch of mango seeds we planted. Although farmers have been supporting Yasuda Town by buying mango seeds, the harvesting of mangoes is still in an experimental stage. The mangoes used in our current Mango Daifuku are all from Kochi, but in the future we hope to use only mangoes grown in Yasuda Town. It would be great if eventually we were able to have our town’s mangoes sold in supermarkets and roadside stations across the prefecture.

“Our Mango Daifuku uses cream cheese instead of the usual
azuki beans, so I think that people from all over the world
will enjoy the flavor” says Mr. Teshima

Please tell us a bit about the Mango Daifuku!
   You can buy the Mango Daifuku at the “Anta-to-Yume Factory Kilala” located on route 55, near the “Teru Port Yasuda.” The daifuku has three layers. A soft layer of mochi covers a layer of cream cheese flavoring, and in the middle of it all is a sweet mango puree. This unique way of making daifuku creates an elegant harmony between the contrasting flavors of cream cheese and mango. Besides Yasuda Town, the Mango Daifuku are also sold at “Tenkosu” in Kochi City, as well as the airport, but you can only buy them for the manufacturer’s price in Yasuda Town! This means that a 6 pack of daifuku is 1050 yen if you buy it at the airport and 650 yen if you buy it at Yasuda Town. The packaging at Yasuda Town is a bit plain, but the taste is the same. You can also eat the daifuku in many different ways. Try eating the daifuku at different temperatures to get the most out of them!

Please say a word to the foreign residents living in Kochi!
   I think that our daifuku are easy to enjoy for every palette. Come to Yasuda Town anytime and try them out!

Anta to Yume Factory Kilala
   1760-1 Yasuda, Yasuda Town
   TEL: 0887-30-1735
   Hours: 10:00AM-6:00PM
   Closed: Tuesdays (or the following day if Tuesday is a holiday)
   Directions: Take the Tosa Kuroshio Railway (Gomen/Nahari Line) and get off at Yasuda Station. It takes 11 minutes to walk from there. Here you can buy Mango Daifuku at the manufacturer’s price.