Sweet potato vs yam difference and comparison diffen. Types of sweet potatoes with images and why you should be eating them. The sweet potato, a member of the morning glory family, is grown around the world, although its indigenous to the americas and is especially popular in the southern united states. Nov 09, 2017 ahead of your big thanksgiving feast, its time to determine what exactly is the difference between yams and sweet potatoes. A sweet potato is not a type of yam and a yam is not a type of sweet potato. Difference between yams and sweet potatoes youtube. Its creamy, almost like a yukon gold potato, and slightly sweet. Not only can you tell a sweet potato by its color, the end is sometimes tapered and thin and usually the skin is smooth. For the uninitiated, ube pronounced oohbae is a purple yam that is a staple in filipino desserts. Mountain mans affiliate store for great gifts and more. Yams and sweet potatoes are well loved around the world but many people do not know the difference between the two. In fact, the more brightly orange and sweeter sweet potato is in the morning glory family while yams are more closely related to agave, she also said.
It is rough and scaly and very low in beta carotene. Find out what to look for at the store, plus what purple and white sweet potatoes are. The palerskinned sweet potato has a thin, light yellow skin and pale yellow flesh. Find highquality sweet potato stock photos and editorial news pictures from getty images. If your recipe calls for sweet potatoes but you can only find garnet yams or jewel yams, what do you do.
Depending on the variety, sweetpotato flesh can vary from white to orange and even purple. Sweet potatoes have calcium, iron, protein, beta carotene, sodium, vitamin a and more sugar and water than yams. Comparing beets, sweet potatoes and yams insights and. A relative of sweet potato, yuca, and taro root, ube has dark, purple skin and vibrant purple. Remember, when you are cooking african or asian dishes, if the recipe calls for yams, it is not referring to what americans call yams which are really sweet potatoes. Lets break down the main differences between yams and sweet potatoes. Terri milligan, milwaukee journal sentinel published 6. What is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. Your family will love these sweet and savory dishes, like sweet potato casserole, sweet potato pie bars, and more. Your browser does not currently recognize any of the video formats. There is no mistaking the sweet potato casserole, no matter what sort. Mostly, im writing this post about the differences between sweet potatoes and yams and taro and yuca because i need to get it straight myself.
Whats the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. Can you please define what the actual tubers look like so i know what i am buying. So now you and i know the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. Well, youre not alone its a fairly common mistake for americans to refer to certain varieties of sweet potatoes as yams. Would you be surprised if i told you that all those times you thought you were eating yams, you were likely eating a sweet potato, and that you probably havent ever actually had a true yam. Sweet potato recipes are perfect for coldweather comfort food or a hearty thanksgiving side dish. A true yam is a starchy edible root of the dioscorea genus, and is generally imported to america from the caribbean. My boyfriend and i are in love with sweet potato fries so i shop for them frequently, usually grabbing whichever is in stock. Another group suggested that sweet potatoes are a vitamin a superfood, putting them way ahead of their white potato competitors.
Types of sweet potatoes with images and why you should be. Nov 01, 2017 yams and sweet potatoes are not the same thing. Real potatoes like your trusty russet belong to the nightshade family. Download the today app for the latest coverage on the coronavirus outbreak. In this vox video, joss fong and mac rogers, the president of the sweet potato council explain how. The truth is that the former, the supermarket yam, is not a yam at all but a type of sweet potato. Food companies are adding sweet potato to waffles, pizza crust and even sports drinks.
Sweet potatoes vs yams vs taro vs yuca hilah cooking. Yams and sweet potatoes are, in fact, very different. So sure, yams and sweet potatoes may have a few things in common but biologically, these two tubers are worlds apart. The skin of a yam is dark, resembles tree bark, and has a hairy feel to it, and the flesh inside ranges from creamy white to a washedout purple. It differs greatly from the sweet potato in taste, texture, appearance and family. Demystifying different types of purple sweet potatoes, one tuber at a time. Wait, theres a difference heres why they were confused in the first place. Find out the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, what to look for at the store when buying the tubers, and how to store them at home. According to the north carolina sweet potato commission, the.
The problem is they contradict each other as to how to tell them apart. The ultimate purple sweet potato guide friedas inc. The best yams sweet potatoes recipes on yummly candied yams with marshmallows, holiday spiced sweet potatoes yams, vanilla bean sweet potato gratin. A staple in african cuisine, yams are most often boiled, roasted or fried. It differs greatly from the sweetpotato in taste, texture, appearance and family. Sweet potatoes are more moist and sweet than a yam, and can come in a variety of colors with red or light skin and orange or white flesh. Should i be eating yams or sweet potatoes, which one is. Well when it comes to the sweet potato and yam side dishes and desserts we typically think of, it really makes no difference. Types of sweet potatoes with images and why you should. What is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam. In asia and new zealand, purple and yellow sweet potatoes can be found as well. Folk wisdom says orange flesh is yam, white or cream flesh is sweet potato. Yams are native to africa, asia, and are now common in central america and the caribbean.
Department of agriculture requires labels with the misnomer yam to be accompanied with the term sweet potato. The darkerskinned variety which is most often and incorrectly called a yam has a thicker, dark orange to reddish skin with a sweet, vivid orange flesh and a moist texture. Alton brown explains the difference between sweet potatoes. Our sweet potato casserole goes the opposite direction of the typical requisites of marshmallows and brown sugar. To distinguish this new breed, they called it a yam and the name stuck. Sure, both are angiosperms, or flowering plants, but the similarities stop there. Dioscoreaceae a tuber or bulb of a tropical vine grown central. Their long shelf life of 6 months allows them to be a dependable food source during times of poor farmingthe yam is a much more difficult crop to harvest than the sweet potato. Why a yam is not a sweet potato smart news smithsonian. Ever wondered if yams and sweet potatoes are the same thing. Convolvulaceae morning glory family grown in tropical america moist mouth feel sweet taste yam name. And in fact, their physical characteristics are so different, its pretty easy to tell genuine yams and sweet potatoes apart with just a quick glance. Thus, the orange sweet potatoes are often sold as yams, but the usda requires them to also contain sweet potato which is what they really are in. Ahead of your big thanksgiving feast, its time to determine what exactly is the difference between yams and sweet potatoes.
Read about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams, plus. And yet yam and sweet potato do mean different things in grocery stores. Finally a video that shows them together as opposed to just using words. Whats the difference between a sweet potato and a yam. That confusion is twofold and centuries old, beginning with the slave trade. What is the difference between a sweetpotato and a yam. Alton brown discuses the difference between sweet potatoes and yams with nutritional anthropologist deb duchon. This confusion was institutionalized by the usda who started labeling the darker variety of sweet potato yam to distinguish is from its paler cousin.
Download beyond candied yams sweet potato pie free books. Alternate names are kumara new zealand camote mexico and yam usa. Weve bought yams which are really sweet potatoes that were indeed labeled as sweet potatoes. It would greatly clear up the confusion if this little word yam were dropped in reference to sweet potatoes. The difference between yams and sweet potatoes is structural. The surprising difference between sweet potato and yam.
Technically, both sweet potatoes and yams come from flowering plants but they are actually not botanically related. One of the things that always bothered me when living in china was i couldnt tell what type of sweet potato i was buying. Purple yam ube is commonly used in desserts all over the worldin ice creams, tarts and even donuts. Well when it comes to the sweet potato and yam side dishes and desserts we typically think of, it. A yam is not a sweet potato and a sweet potato is not a yam. Ube or not ube, that is the questionand friedas is answering.
The yam is a monocot from the dioscoreaceae family that is related to lilies and grasses. This is probably what most of you picture when you think of a sweet potato light tan skin, slightly yellow interior. So, whats the difference between a sweet potato and a yam. Nov 21, 2011 if your recipe calls for sweet potatoes but you can only find garnet yams or jewel yams, what do you do.
Ships transporting enslaved africans to america were provisioned with true yams dioscorea, a. Instead, this savory side dish gets its flavor from bacon, rosemary, shallots a. These vegetables both provide key nutrients, but one is a root and the other is a tuber. It turns out sweet potatoes are not merely potatoes that happen to be sweet. According to the north carolina sweet potato commission, the naming confusion began decades ago when louisiana farmers developed a new sweet potato with darkorange flesh that. Most yams have a drier, potato like starchiness than most sweet potatoes, which tend to have a rich flavor and, in some cases, creamy texture. Preparation is a timeconsuming process involving several minutes of pounding and boiling to remove toxins. Nov 18, 2015 can you tell the difference between a sweet potato and a yam. There are many types of sweet potatoes ranging from white, yellow, red, purple. If there is one question that everyone i meet seems to have, it is the difference between yams and sweet potatoes. Although they may look and taste very similar, the true yam and sweet potato are not botanically related.
Sweet potatoes have thin, smooth skin and orange or white flesh. Sep, 2017 whats the difference between a sweet potato and a yam. The terms yam and sweet potato are often used interchangeably in grocery stores. Whats the difference between yams and sweet potatoes. The characteristics of sweet potatoes and yams are also different. Nov 10, 2016 mostly, im writing this post about the differences between sweet potatoes and yams and taro and yuca because i need to get it straight myself. Posted in food and plants and tagged beets, beta vulgaris, root vegetables. Nov 16, 2015 lets break down the main differences between yams and sweet potatoes. Know what kind of sweet potato you want for your recipe, and be alert to the yam sweet potato labeling concept, but also use your eyes to look at the color of the skin and the flesh, if possible. Though sweet potatoes and yams are both root vegetables, they taste different, have different nutritional qualities, and come from different plant families. Unlike the sweet potato, yams must be cooked to eat safely. Heres the scoop on these tubers, with tips for getting the one you want at the grocery store. Dec 27, 2016 a yam is not a sweet potato and a sweet potato is not a yam.
Read this before sitting down to thanksgiving dinner. Yams have more fiber, potassium and vitamins c, b6 and e than sweet potatoes but also more fats and carbs. In fact, the yam shares more traits with a daylily than it does with a sweet potato. Can you please define what the actual tubers look like so i. Yams require more oil, cream, or butter when cooked and are generally more starchy than the modern sweet potato, bauer says. Another hint to help you figure out what youve got. Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, are grown in the us. The rising theory about why there exists widespread confusion about sweet potatoes and yams draws its source from the days of slavery in. The specialty produce company shines a spotlight on the trending purple yam. Its not sweet and has a dry, crumbly texture similar to a white baking potato. Kate, sweet potatoes and yams are actually two different species, but it gets confusing because the names are used. Sep 23, 2016 according to chef marc bauer, master chef at the international culinary center, a yam is characterized by dark and sometimes rough skin, though the flesh is whiter in shade and dry. The sweet potato is from the convolvulaceae family.
Actual sweet potatoes have short, smooth skinned roots with tapered ends whereas actual yams are long and cylindrical with rough, scaly skins. Jun 08, 2019 whats the difference between yams and sweet potatoes. Basic sweet potatoes are strong sources of betacarotene, manganese, and copper. Download premium images you cant get anywhere else. Yams are native to africa and asia, and thus over 90% of yam crops are grown in africa.
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