Protected local food
Edosaki Kabocha
江戸崎かぼちゃ
A kabocha squash from Inashiki in Ibaraki, harvested only when fully ripe. The flesh is deep orange, sweet and fluffy when cooked.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 22 December 2015
- Region
- Kanto
- Official name in Japanese
- 江戸崎かぼちゃ
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 茨城県稲敷市及び牛久市桂町
Picked only when fully ripe
Most squash is picked a little early and ripened in storage. Edosaki kabocha stays on the vine until it is fully ripe, which gives a sweet, fluffy, almost chestnut-like texture when cooked. The skin is a dark, bumpy green and the flesh is a deep orange. Every field is inspected, a rule growers have kept through about 50 years of growing.
Volcanic soil, steady rain
The fields around Inashiki in southern Ibaraki sit on Kanto loam, a layer of volcanic ash that drains water quickly. Kabocha hates wet roots, and the region gets steady rain through the year without staying soggy.
How it is eaten
Kabocha is the everyday pumpkin of Japan: simmered in dashi and soy sauce, fried as tempura or mashed into croquettes. A good one needs little more than salt.
Good to know
- Kabocha tempura is a standard on Japanese menus. Order it and taste how sweet a well-grown squash can be.
- The growing area is about an hour from Tokyo, close to Narita Airport, so local farm stands are an easy stop on a road trip.
Questions travellers ask
Is kabocha the same as pumpkin?
It is a type of winter squash, sometimes sold in the US and Europe as Japanese pumpkin. It is drier and sweeter than a Halloween pumpkin.
Where is Edosaki Kabocha grown?
In Inashiki city and part of Ushiku city, Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.