Village aims to restore Fukushima's reputation with habanero ice cream

FUKUSHIMA (Kyodo) – A farming village in northeastern Japan that saw demand for its products fall after the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011 found a way to improve its image by encouraging people to try its cream soft ice cream molded locally hot peppers.

The village of Hirata, 45 km southwest of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, has seen a collapse in local vegetable sales, particularly of asparagus, due to fears of radioactive fallout, although the government has not Was not designated as an evacuation zone.

In the midst of this difficult situation, three farmers began cultivating habaneros after taking a liking to what they described as the "cute" appearance of the pepper, according to Tetsuya Kono, who runs a roadside halt who sells food and other local products to travelers.

But it soon became clear that the cultivation of the bright red plant did not make commercial sense as pepper is usually too hot for Japanese consumers. Habanero, famous for its devilish spices, is usually grown in Latin America.

The hirata farmers then added spices to their chili to their miso and curry-in-a-bag, but sales were still sluggish and the habaneros were only accumulating.

"Is there a product that uses a lot of habaneros?" The question inspired the "soft ice cream Habanero" in 2015.

The ice cream has different levels of spice depending on the amount of sprinkled chili powder. Customers who can cope with the "extremely spicy" level receive free ice cream. The news of ice cream is widespread in social media and people ready to take on the challenge of other parts of the country soon appeared.

Up to now, some 330 people have tried ice cream and 90% have completed it, with various reactions. Some, watery eyes, seemed about to cry but stubbornly persevered. Others seemed to taste it.

Making ice cream is a bit of a challenge. Workers wear glbades and masks to sprinkle habanero powder in a cardboard enclosure.

At present, the number of farmers who grow habanero peppers has risen to 12 and producers can sell habaneros at 470 yen ($ 4.2) per kilogram, up from 250 yen in 2014.

While presenting itself as the "most spicy village of Japan", asparagus and other vegetables remain key products for Hirata.

"The Habaneros are just one way for the village to become known," Kono said. "We hope this will get more people to visit Hirata and buy our vegetables."