Protected local food
Yamauchi Kabura Turnip
山内かぶら
A cone-shaped heirloom turnip from the hamlet of Yamauchi in Wakasa, Fukui. Firm flesh that holds together when simmered and crunches in pickles.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 7 September 2016
- Region
- Chubu
- Official name in Japanese
- 山内かぶら
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 福井県三方上中郡若狭町山内
One hamlet, one turnip
Yamauchi kabura is an old local turnip grown in the hamlet of Yamauchi in Wakasa town, Fukui. Growers collect all the seed together, so it never crosses with other turnips and keeps its character.
Cone-shaped and dimpled
Unlike the round white turnips most visitors know, it is cone-shaped, with a dimpled skin and many fine roots. The flesh is dense and hard, so it stays whole when simmered and gives pickles a real bite. The leaves are cooked as greens too.
How it is eaten
Locally it goes into pickles and simmered dishes through the cold months. Look for it in Wakasa's farm shops and roadside stations.
Good to know
- The Wakasa coast is known for seafood. A day there can include fish, and pickles made from this turnip.
- Also from Fukui: Yoshikawa Eggplant and, in winter, Echizen crab.
Questions travellers ask
Where is Yamauchi Kabura grown?
Only in Yamauchi, a hamlet in Wakasa town, Fukui Prefecture.
How is it different from other turnips?
It is cone-shaped, firmer and denser, so it holds its shape when cooked and stays crunchy when pickled.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Echizen-Fukui: 400 years of towns built in stone
- Esashi: the herring town that outshone Edo
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- The railway across the sea: Nagahama, Tsuruga and Imajo
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
- Wakasa and the Saba Kaido: the mackerel road to Kyoto
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.