Häagen-Dazs ice cream always delights with its limited-time seasonal flavors...

For the fall 2022 season, their 甘熟 紅はるか Kanjuku Beni Haruka sweet potato flavor has received many positive comments on social media.

In Japanese, 完熟 kanjuku is used to describe "a completely ripe (fruit or vegetable)." In this case, however, they use the term 甘熟, an invented term occasionally used in brand names of fruits such as bananas and mandarin oranges. It has the same pronunciation as 完熟, but replaces the first kanji with 甘, meaning "sweet." And indeed, a freshly baked Beni Haruka sweet potato is incredibly sweet and aromatic. But how does it work as a Häagen-Dazs ice cream flavor?

There's only one way to find out: We had to try it for ourselves...

Delighted by the luxurious sweetness

Once we opened the lid, we were greeted by a delicious-looking cream-colored ice cream...

So, what does it taste like?

The taste of sweet potato is not strong from the beginning but is only slightly noticeable in the aftertaste. It's an elegant taste.

It's somewhat difficult to tell from the photo, but as you continue eating, you'll discover a dark yellow portion in the center that is clearly different from the ice cream at the top layer.

To our surprise, this part contained a scrumptious sweet potato-flavored sauce loaded with actual pieces of sweet potato.

The texture of the sauce was sticky and sweet, just like eating a baked Beni Haruka sweet potato.

The sauce alone is good, but if you eat it together with the ice cream on the top layer, you can enjoy a luxurious combination of sweetness and creaminess.

You can really enjoy two flavors at once with this ice cream. Now we understood why this ice cream was so popular. We would definitely buy it again. What a delightful, luxurious dessert.

Haagen-Dazs Kanjuku Beni Haruka is only available for a limited time, so look for it wherever ice cream is sold in Japan.