Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes

Fit_mommy

Fit_mommy

Cathlete
Okay so I had been buying Sweet Potatoes lately but the last time I was at the store they were out. I saw yams so I purchased them instead. I know that sweet potatoes are the better choice over regular white potatoes but what about the yams? I see that they are white inside like regular potoes and aren't nearly as sweet tasting as a sweet potato yet it has enough flavor that I can eat it plain. Yams also have the consistency closer to that of a regular potato where a sweet potato is very different. So what's the scoop? Which is better-a yam or a sweet potato-or are they basically the same thing??

To be honest I always thought they were one in the same!

TIA!:)
 
Gosh, I always thought they were the same, except for the color. One Thanksgiving my sister made her famous "sweet potato casserole", but bought sweet potatoes, which are MUCH lighter in color. She ended up putting food coloring in it so it wouldn't look so anemic. Now, when I'm confused as to which one is the darker one, I scratch the skin to see the orange inside.

Jeanette
 
"Several decades ago, when orange-fleshed sweet potatoes were introduced in the southern United States, producers and shippers desired to distinguish them from the more traditional, white-fleshed types. The African word nyami, referring to the starchy, edible root of the Dioscorea genus of plants, was adopted in its English form, yam. Yams in the U.S. are actually sweetpotatoes with relatively moist texture and orange flesh. Although the terms are generally used interchangeably, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that the label "yam" always be accompanied by "sweetpotato."

I also can tell you the name of Abraham Lincoln's first Vice President!

Just Do It! :)
 
Either the Yam or Sweet Potato are EXCELLENT types of complex carbohydrates for you. I personally prefer the yam over the sweet potato.

Here's a great "yam wedges" recipe to try (for either yam or sweet potato) that is full of flavor and good for you, too!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Get a cookie sheet/pizza stone and spray with Pam. set aside.

Wash 1-2 yams/sweet potatoes well.
Cut the yam/sweet potato into wedges. Set aside.
In a gallon sized ziplock bag, mix the following ingedients:
1/2-1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2-1 teaspoon ground fennel
1/2-1 teaspoon ground aniseseed (or grind them up as best as you can).

Now, place the yams/sweet potatoes in the bag, seal and shake to cover.

Arrange the wedges on the cookie sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through. Turn over half way through the baking.

Enjoy! This is great with a Turkey burger. :9
 
I may be confused about them. I only see one type here: the big, orange ones, that are dark orange inside when cooked.

I call them yams, but are they actually 'sweet potatos."

I've seen the other ones (usually purplish skin and light insides) once in a while, but not often. Which ones are those?
 
From a Q&A in the Boston Globe:

Q. What is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?


A. Sweet potatos and yams are very different. They come from different botanical families. And neither of them is related to the potato. Yams, aptly enough, come from the yam family. Sweet potatoes, though, come from the morning glory family.

Yams and sweet potatos appear similar because both are tubers, a structure that serves as a plant's underground food storage system.

''In both cases, you're eating a root," says Chip Tynan, a horticulturist with the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.

''They're frequently confused," adds Chris Strand, the outreach horticulturist at Harvard's Arnold Arboretum. "Sweet potatoes are often labeled as yams, but I don't think I've ever had a true yam."

Indeed, produce experts at Bread and Circus stores say the "yams" they sell are truly sweet potatos. But because everyone calls sweet potatos yams, they label them that way.

True yams are available in Asian markets. They are larger than sweet potatos, starchier and drier. Ironically, it is the sweetest and moistest sweet potatos that are labelled as yams in grocery stores.

Sweet potatos are abundant in the United States because they can withstand colder weather. Most are grown in North Carolina, Louisiana and California, but they can grow in northern states as well. Yams, though, require hot, moist weather and are grown in tropical areas such as western Africa and India.

The two differ in color as well. Sweet potato flesh can range from purple to white, with the most common colors being orange and yellow. Yam color ranges from white to yellow.
 
Ah, so I've been eating sweet potatoes!
(But the 'yams' I've seen are definitely SMALLER--thinner--than the sweet potatoes!)
 
Rogue, thank you for posting that! I never knew that. I have morning glories!

I have had yams at a Japanese restaurant before, and they are not even close to sweet potatoes!

Missy
 
I love both too! I'm pretty sure that sweet potatoes are the lighter colored ones, and yams are the brighter orange color. I make a spinach salad with roated yams/sweet potatoes and mushrooms. You just peel and diced the yams/sweet potatoes and toss them with olive oil, sliced button mushrooms, salt and pepper. Then spread them on a cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes at 400 degrees. Quite yummy. I accompany this with a corn-salsa "dressing." Over medium-medium/hi heat, heat 1-2 TB of olive oil. Add 3 minced garlic cloves and 1 small bag of frozen corn kernels. Cook until golden in color. Add one small container of fresh, store packed salsa. Heat until warm and serve over the yam/sweet potato, mushroom and spinach salad.

Delicious!
 
I bought sweet potatoes and they were bright orange inside with darker skin...I bought yams and they were whitish-yellow inside with lighter skin....YIKES, what a confusing mess, ey? LOL I'm sorry if I confused everyone! Tee Hee!

Thanks for the recipe! Sounds yummy! :9

I personally prefer sweet potatoes myself...the yams I had were not as sweet.
 
I prefer sweet potatoes. (I think). So I was just wondering, are the ones in the cans that are labeled yams really sweet potatoes? Because they are not light in color, they look like sweet potatoes that you buy in the store fresh. I am confused.

:+ Shawna
 
> I'm pretty sure that sweet potatoes are the
>lighter colored ones, and yams are the brighter orange color.

That's what I thought, but that's not what the description above says!

So, I'm even more confused. I've been eating yams? That's what I thought (before I read this description).

As one of my students says when he is stressed out about something: "Oh, bother!"

(better than what some other students say!).


I guess it doesn't matter what they are called, I just love those big orange turds!
 
>I prefer sweet potatoes. (I think). So I was just wondering,
>are the ones in the cans that are labeled yams really sweet
>potatoes? Because they are not light in color, they look like
>sweet potatoes that you buy in the store fresh. I am confused.


Newspaper article for February 13:

"Yam/Sweet Potato Question Causes 5 Fatalities!"
During the weekend, 5 unusual daaths occured: two by spontaneous combustion, and 3 by head explosion. Investigation revealed that all 5 victimes had participated in an online discussion about the difference between yams and sweet potatoes. Noted psycho-physico-neurologist, Dr. L.S. Peabody, M.D., P.H,D. B.S.S, R.S.V.P, stated that the victims suffered from cognitive overload, whichh lead to their demise. A joint funeral service will be held this coming Friday, after which a meal, featuring yams...I mean, sweet potatoes...or is it yams....AAAAAH! ...Kablooey!....
 
>Newspaper article for February 13
>"Yam/Sweet Potato Question Causes 5 Fatalities!"
>During the weekend, 5 unusual daaths occured: two by
>spontaneous combustion, and 3 by head explosion.
>Investigation revealed that all 5 victimes had participated in
>an online discussion about the difference between yams and
>sweet potatoes. Noted psycho-physico-neurologist, Dr. L.S.
>Peabody, M.D., P.H,D. B.S.S, R.S.V.P, stated that the victims
>suffered from cognitive overload, whichh lead to their demise.
> A joint funeral service will be held this coming Friday,
>after which a meal, featuring yams...I mean, sweet
>potatoes...or is it yams....AAAAAH! ...Kablooey!....

Kathryn, you are too funny!! I'm making some Sweet-potato pie err..or if you want to call if Yam pie for lunch. It's all good.;)Anyone care to join me?

I just wanted to add and please don't hit me with any yams or sweet potatoes...I have read something along the lines of what Rogue has posted in "Vegetables Every Day" by Jack Bishop (pg 359).

Robin (trying to duck all the flying tubers):)
 
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