We Produced a Prototype of "Dried Sweet Potato Dice" Made from Domestic Sweet Potatoes

Agriture has produced a prototype of "dried sweet potato dice" made from domestically grown sweet potatoes. Fresh sweet potatoes have a high moisture content, so when added directly to baked goods or cereals, moisture migration tends to affect texture and best-before date. By dicing and drying them, they can be handled as a stable commercial raw material suitable for room-temperature distribution.

For this prototype, after careful pretreatment at our own processing facility in Kyoto Prefecture, peeled sweet potatoes were cut into cubes and finished by low-temperature drying. We dried them under conditions that retain the gentle natural sweetness of sweet potato and the yellow color of the cut surface, and designed the specifications around use in multiple applications such as baked goods, cereals, muesli and soup ingredients. Our existing Dried sweet potato were mainly handled in slice and chip form, but this dice specification is a lineup that meets requests from confectionery and bakery customers for a blending ingredient that makes more of its chunky texture.

- Dice (cubes): a blending ingredient that makes the most of its chunky texture
Peeled sweet potatoes were cut into uniform cubes, heat-pretreated and then dried at low temperature. The size keeps the pieces noticeable even when mixed into dough, and they tend to retain a soft, fluffy texture after baking. They can be used in a wide range of commercial applications: in pound cakes, muffins, scones and bread dough, as ingredients in cereal, granola and muesli, and in soups, potages and mixed rice.

Unlike slices and chips, dice are a shape suited to "uses where you want to keep pieces of the ingredient itself." Slices use their thin cross-section for toppings or eating as they are, and powder serves as a blending ingredient that spreads color and sweetness evenly; the strength of dice is their presence, making it obvious at a glance that "there's sweet potato in it" when blended. They are chosen when you want the sweetness and chunky texture of sweet potato to take center stage in a product.

Prototype Specifications and Choosing by Use

For this prototype, the standard size is around 10 mm cubes, but the cube size and drying conditions can be changed to suit the application. The following specifications can be designed to match the intended final product.

• Large dice: mixed into bread, scones and muffins, and as ingredients in stews and potages
• Medium dice: granola, muesli and cereal, pound cake and cookie dough
• Small dice: furikake and mixed-rice seasoning bases, ingredients for baby food and care food, blended into wagashi bean paste

The cut surface of the dice does not contain polyphenols or fiber from the skin, and the finish is based on the pale yellow of the peeled specification. We can also discuss prototypes with the skin on, but we recommend testing conditions in advance to see how the skin's pigment and texture affect the final product.

OEM and Product Development Ideas Using Sweet Potato Dice

Sweet potato is an ingredient that fits both Japanese and Western product concepts, and it makes it easy to build appeal around seasonality, health consciousness and domestic raw materials. Here are the directions Agriture is most often asked about.

• Autumn and winter seasonal baked goods (sweet potato muffins, scones, pound cake)
• Granola and muesli brands built around domestic ingredients
• Reassuring ingredients for children's snacks and nursery school meals (no added coloring, minimal additives)
• A naturally sweet ingredient for elderly-care and soft foods (rehydrated for potages and soup fillings)
• A new ingredient for wagashi brands (sweet potato paste, mixed-in wagashi, rakugan)
• Filling ingredients for bakeries that can be distributed at room temperature

It is also easy to consider as an ingredient for recipes that cut back on sugar by relying on the sweet potato's own sweetness, or as a blend component combined with other dried vegetables and dried fruits.

The ingredient concept of domestically grown sweet potatoes

Imported sweet potatoes also circulate in meaningful volumes, but the concept of domestically grown sweet potatoes is an easy angle for differentiation in packaging, ingredient labeling and product storytelling. Strengths such as "a visible growing region," "traceability you can design" and "processing completed entirely in Japan" can be built into the brand design of the finished product.

At Agriture, we are running prototypes under a system in which domestically grown sweet potatoes are dried, cut and packed under integrated control at our own processing facility in Kyoto Prefecture. Because the growing region, harvest timing and finishing conditions can be adjusted to fit the design of the final product, we can work with you to refine the product concept from the raw material selection stage onward.

About the minimum prototype lot and processing facility

We accept prototype orders starting from 1kg of raw material. Different dice sizes, skin-on or skin-off, and different drying conditions can be tested in parallel, so you can consult us even at an early stage before the product concept is fixed. Full production starts from 10kg, and purchase lots, lead times and packaging formats are worked out individually.

Processing takes place at our own facility in Kyoto Prefecture. The best-before date is about 6 months from shipment, and we can handle commercial bulk, small pouches and light-shielding packaging. Delivery pre-blended with other ingredients for baking mixes or cereals is also available on request.

Combining with other dried vegetables and fruits

Sweet potato dice can be used on their own, but combining them with other dried vegetables and fruits widens the range of product concepts. Dried potato (savory soup fillings), Dried Shishigatani Kabocha (a potage ingredient that adds sweetness and color), Dried corn (cereal blends where sweetness and texture pair well), Dried apple (granola and muesli blends) and more — one of our strengths is that blend designs like these can be developed together with a single raw material supplier.

We also welcome consultations on product designs that combine the character of different ingredients, such as autumn-winter blends of domestic ingredients, root vegetable potage mixes, and granola built around Japanese ingredients. Let's work out the final product's specifications, lot size and schedule together from the prototype stage.

• Dried sweet potato (slices, chips / dice)
• List of dried vegetable raw materials
• List of powder raw materials

Agriture also handles OEM drying and cutting of root vegetables and tubers, starting with domestically grown sweet potatoes, as well as prototyping of commercial ingredients. Companies interested in developing baked goods, cereals, soups, wagashi or other products using sweet potato dice are welcome to contact us.

Dried turnip can be expected to attract commercial interest as a material for soups, simmered dishes, and pickles, and if processed into powder, it can also be used as a raw material for baby food and nursing-care food. Turnip's characteristic gentle flavor is a material well compatible with children's foods and products for the elderly.