Yams Arent Sweet Potatoes!

J'Bo · 08-01-2003, 08:46 AM

Most people think that yams and sweet potatoes are the same thing....Thats incorrect.

It is possible to make an enormous fuss over the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. Botanically speaking, the two vegetables share nothing except for some flowery associations. The yam, a tuber, is a member of the lily family, while the sweet potato is a member of the morning glory family. Yams are usually sweeter, moister, plumper, denser, and a deeper orange color than sweet potatoes -- though not always. The two plants also come from different parts of the world. The yam probably originated in Africa (although it may be the same plant that had been cultivated in Asia since 8000 B.C.); the sweet potato is a New World plant discovered by Columbus (although it may have mysteriously traveled to Polynesia hundreds of years prior to Columbus's first voyage). Slaves in the American South called the sweet potato nyamis because of its similarity to a vegetable of that name that they knew from their homeland. This African word brought the two vegetables together, probably for all eternity, despite botany, archaeology, plant pathology, and the like. And that's probably just as well.

For all practical purposes, it might be more intriguing to think of the yam and the sweet potato as twins separated at birth, growing up with different quirks and twitches but retaining the essential sweet nature that makes them virtually interchangeable from a culinary perspective. Furthermore, the yams generally available in this country are really a variety of sweet potato. (True yams do offer one element missing from sweet potatoes; they contain a compound from which the sex hormone estrogen was first manufactured.)

The value of the sweet potato as a main-course vegetable as well as a dessert has been proven in most cultures and at every American Thanksgiving. The European acceptance of the sweet potato following Columbus's return to Spain was immediate and enthusiastic. The Spanish potato, as it became known, was also soon elevated to the status of aphrodisiac, assuring it an entree to the highest levels of society. Henry VIII had sweet potatoes imported from Spain and made into many types of confections. The distinguished culinary writer and chef Antonin Careme assured the vegetable immortality when he included it in his classic The Art Of French Cooking in the Nineteenth Century. Perhaps less well known is the vegetable's popularity both in China, where it is sun-dried and used for noodle making, and in Japan, where it has been a staple for hundreds of years, especially when typhoons have decimated the rice crop.

But it is the American Thanksgiving that is the true test of the sweet potato's versatility. It is transformed into pies, puddings, and muffins, as well as candied vegetables, biscuits, and even ice cream. The wonder is that, like so many of the foods associated with Thanksgiving, from cranberries and chestnuts to the turkey itself, sweet potatoes are packed away, psychologically speaking, until the next Thanksgiving comes along. Not only can sweet potatoes be substituted in almost any recipe for white potatoes with unexpected and sprightly results, but they make tasty and unusual combinations when sauteed with garlic and tomatoes, layered in gratins with various types of cheese, or fried in tempura batter and served with dipping sauces.

In Louisiana Creole country, any day might begin with sweet potatoes in the form of waffles, fritters, or pone. But when there is world enough and time, people look forward to one of the oldest Creole specialties, patates douces. As originally prepared, sweet potatoes are buried in ashes at the end of a meal and left to cook slowly until the next. The almost century-old Picayune Creole Cook Book issued this word of warning in 1901: "[preparing] the sweet potato is an art, for the delicate flavor of the potato is lost if it is not properly cooked."

Homage to the sweet potato/yam is an institution in parts of Louisiana, where an annual October festival, the Yambilee, culminates in a colorful procession called the Grand Louisiana Parade.

**dg806** · 08-01-2003, 08:54 AM

Don't know bout Cananda, but down here, the sweet potato is a tuber and you make yams out of sweet potatoes!

**calalily1972** · 08-01-2003, 08:58 AM

Well DG we all know the south is a breed of their own anyway. and that goes along with Maine folk

Yams are usually longer than sweet potatos as well but for the most part they look alike and even the grocery stores confuse them.

**dg806** · 08-01-2003, 09:00 AM

ok...............well yams here are candied sweet potatoes.

Skib · 08-01-2003, 09:01 AM

so if i can't stand sweet potatoes then i probably won't like yams either?

**calalily1972** · 08-01-2003, 09:05 AM

Yup! They taste very similiar.

DG candied yams are not the same. Not even close. You have candied yams and then use sweet potatoes in pies and bread. Which BTW I'm done talking about cuz now I have to think about pies and bread

**dg806** · 08-01-2003, 09:10 AM

Mmmmmmmmmm! Sweet potatoe pie!!! With whip cream on top!

**dg806** · 08-01-2003, 09:11 AM

And that makes me think of Pecan pie too!!!!!!

**dg806** · 08-01-2003, 09:14 AM

Can't stop now....................with fried turkey, green beans, deviled eggs, warm yeast rolls and homemade cranberry sauce!

I just gained 10 pounds!

**Mudge** · 08-01-2003, 09:20 AM

Ooh, pecan pie is good

MsFit · 08-01-2003, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by J'Bo

In Louisiana Creole country, any day might begin with sweet potatoes in the form of waffles, fritters, or pone.

I'm from there and I've never even heard of dat cher.

Nigeepoo · 08-01-2003, 11:23 AM

Hey, J'Bo. What about taro? (that rhymes!). According to http://www.anycities.com/user1/mendosa/gilists.htm yams have the lowest GI, taro is next and sweet potatoes are highest.

donescobar2000 · 08-01-2003, 05:05 PM

Gosh me and my girlfriend have this arguement all the time. I said it is the same thing. She says its different. I can't tell they both taste the same to me.

donescobar2000 · 08-01-2003, 05:08 PM

All this talk about pie is going to make me bake a Protein Sweet Potato Pie.

Freeman · 08-01-2003, 08:22 PM

I can't find any yams anywhere

donescobar2000 · 08-01-2003, 08:26 PM

are yo trying to buy some?

Freeman · 08-01-2003, 08:58 PM

yeah, I've never had a yam..only sweet potatoes, but no one around here seems to carry them

J'Bo · 08-01-2003, 10:49 PM

well the opposite is true here in Winnipeg....sweet potatos in only one effin organic store and are $1 each and are the size of a small pototo...yams are everywhere and are HUGE like the size of a small sub and only $1 each.

buff_tat2d_chic · 08-02-2003, 01:51 AM

So are they interchangeable for diet purposes?

J'Bo · 08-02-2003, 08:46 AM

sweet potatoes actually look like potatoes before you crack them open and see that they are orange...yams are long tuberlike looking things...Yams are higher in sugar then sweet potatoes. If you can get sweet potatos i would stick to them and then carb up on Yams. IMO

OceanDude · 08-02-2003, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nigeepoo
Hey, J'Bo. What about taro? (that rhymes!). According to http://www.anycities.com/user1/mendosa/gilists.htm yams have the lowest GI, taro is next and sweet potatoes are highest.

Hmm, this is very interesting to hear (btw thanks j'bo for the dissertation on yams vice sweet poratos. I learned something there.). I use to love taro chips. I wonder if I could home make my own with canola oil...?!!!!

J'Bo · 08-02-2003, 11:54 AM

your more than welcome

BabsieGirl · 03-16-2004, 05:31 PM

Bump for someone

aztecwolf · 03-16-2004, 06:21 PM

i like sweet potatoes more then yams, they do have a different taste, sweet potatoes i believe are more yellow looking before you cook them and yams have a more orangish color.

nikegurl · 03-16-2004, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by aztecwolf
i like sweet potatoes more then yams, they do have a different taste, sweet potatoes i believe are more yellow looking before you cook them and yams have a more orangish color.

yes - that's been my experience too with the coloring. the grocery stores i go to usually have both side by side. i've found i prefer yams mainly for their texture - but the difference in taste isn't major.

PreMier · 03-16-2004, 06:31 PM

Yams are gross... They are really bland IMO. The Tongan BBQ's I go to use them.

nikegurl · 03-16-2004, 06:33 PM

i used to hate 'em but when i'm dieting they become my very favorite thing b/c they taste so crazy sweet.

J'Bo · 03-16-2004, 07:08 PM

thanks for bumping babs.
i am with you ng, i dont care for yams anyother time but dieting season.
they are good with mustard to cut the sweetness....but then again i put mustard on everything

nikegurl · 03-16-2004, 07:53 PM

it's weird....if i'm not watching my diet i'd never ever want to eat one. but when i'm being "good" they become this incredible treat.

Jill · 03-16-2004, 08:06 PM

I like sweet potatoes way better than yams. Yams are bright orange inside and i think are sweeter. I prefer to spice sweet p's like a french fry, then bake!

08-01-2003, 08:46 AM	#1
J'Bo Cuddle Slut Join Date: May 2002 Location: Back in Canada Posts: 9,753 Photos: 6	Yams Arent Sweet Potatoes! Most people think that yams and sweet potatoes are the same thing....Thats incorrect. It is possible to make an enormous fuss over the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. Botanically speaking, the two vegetables share nothing except for some flowery associations. The yam, a tuber, is a member of the lily family, while the sweet potato is a member of the morning glory family. Yams are usually sweeter, moister, plumper, denser, and a deeper orange color than sweet potatoes -- though not always. The two plants also come from different parts of the world. The yam probably originated in Africa (although it may be the same plant that had been cultivated in Asia since 8000 B.C.); the sweet potato is a New World plant discovered by Columbus (although it may have mysteriously traveled to Polynesia hundreds of years prior to Columbus's first voyage). Slaves in the American South called the sweet potato nyamis because of its similarity to a vegetable of that name that they knew from their homeland. This African word brought the two vegetables together, probably for all eternity, despite botany, archaeology, plant pathology, and the like. And that's probably just as well. For all practical purposes, it might be more intriguing to think of the yam and the sweet potato as twins separated at birth, growing up with different quirks and twitches but retaining the essential sweet nature that makes them virtually interchangeable from a culinary perspective. Furthermore, the yams generally available in this country are really a variety of sweet potato. (True yams do offer one element missing from sweet potatoes; they contain a compound from which the sex hormone estrogen was first manufactured.) The value of the sweet potato as a main-course vegetable as well as a dessert has been proven in most cultures and at every American Thanksgiving. The European acceptance of the sweet potato following Columbus's return to Spain was immediate and enthusiastic. The Spanish potato, as it became known, was also soon elevated to the status of aphrodisiac, assuring it an entree to the highest levels of society. Henry VIII had sweet potatoes imported from Spain and made into many types of confections. The distinguished culinary writer and chef Antonin Careme assured the vegetable immortality when he included it in his classic The Art Of French Cooking in the Nineteenth Century. Perhaps less well known is the vegetable's popularity both in China, where it is sun-dried and used for noodle making, and in Japan, where it has been a staple for hundreds of years, especially when typhoons have decimated the rice crop. But it is the American Thanksgiving that is the true test of the sweet potato's versatility. It is transformed into pies, puddings, and muffins, as well as candied vegetables, biscuits, and even ice cream. The wonder is that, like so many of the foods associated with Thanksgiving, from cranberries and chestnuts to the turkey itself, sweet potatoes are packed away, psychologically speaking, until the next Thanksgiving comes along. Not only can sweet potatoes be substituted in almost any recipe for white potatoes with unexpected and sprightly results, but they make tasty and unusual combinations when sauteed with garlic and tomatoes, layered in gratins with various types of cheese, or fried in tempura batter and served with dipping sauces. In Louisiana Creole country, any day might begin with sweet potatoes in the form of waffles, fritters, or pone. But when there is world enough and time, people look forward to one of the oldest Creole specialties, patates douces. As originally prepared, sweet potatoes are buried in ashes at the end of a meal and left to cook slowly until the next. The almost century-old Picayune Creole Cook Book issued this word of warning in 1901: "[preparing] the sweet potato is an art, for the delicate flavor of the potato is lost if it is not properly cooked." Homage to the sweet potato/yam is an institution in parts of Louisiana, where an annual October festival, the Yambilee, culminates in a colorful procession called the Grand Louisiana Parade. ....and thats my $.02

08-01-2003, 08:54 AM	#2
dg806 Guardian of The Homeland Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Charlotte NC Posts: 18,197	Don't know bout Cananda, but down here, the sweet potato is a tuber and you make yams out of sweet potatoes! 1-Andro Rx Pro-hormone

08-01-2003, 09:00 AM	#4
dg806 Guardian of The Homeland Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Charlotte NC Posts: 18,197	ok...............well yams here are candied sweet potatoes. 1-Andro Rx Pro-hormone

08-01-2003, 09:01 AM	#5
Skib Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 816 Photos: 1	so if i can't stand sweet potatoes then i probably won't like yams either? "Everybody wanna be a bodybuilder, but don't nobody wanna lift no heavy-ass weight!" - Ronnie Coleman

08-01-2003, 09:10 AM	#7
dg806 Guardian of The Homeland Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Charlotte NC Posts: 18,197	Mmmmmmmmmm! Sweet potatoe pie!!! With whip cream on top! 1-Andro Rx Pro-hormone

08-01-2003, 08:58 AM	#3
calalily1972 Moderator Moderator Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 22,438 Photos: 1	Well DG we all know the south is a breed of their own anyway. and that goes along with Maine folk Yams are usually longer than sweet potatos as well but for the most part they look alike and even the grocery stores confuse them.

08-01-2003, 09:05 AM	#6
calalily1972 Moderator Moderator Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 22,438 Photos: 1	Yup! They taste very similiar. DG candied yams are not the same. Not even close. You have candied yams and then use sweet potatoes in pies and bread. Which BTW I'm done talking about cuz now I have to think about pies and bread

08-01-2003, 09:11 AM	#8
dg806 Guardian of The Homeland Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Charlotte NC Posts: 18,197	And that makes me think of Pecan pie too!!!!!! 1-Andro Rx Pro-hormone

08-01-2003, 09:14 AM	#9
dg806 Guardian of The Homeland Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Charlotte NC Posts: 18,197	Can't stop now....................with fried turkey, green beans, deviled eggs, warm yeast rolls and homemade cranberry sauce! I just gained 10 pounds! 1-Andro Rx Pro-hormone

08-01-2003, 09:20 AM	#10
Mudge Dieting I swear! Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Here Posts: 23,477 Photos: 1	Ooh, pecan pie is good Kinesiology Comp Bench MaxCalc Motivation Bench form Charles Poliquin When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. Lao-Tzu

08-01-2003, 11:23 AM	#12
Nigeepoo Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Yateley, Hants, United Kingdom Posts: 279	Hey, J'Bo. What about taro? (that rhymes!). According to http://www.anycities.com/user1/mendosa/gilists.htm yams have the lowest GI, taro is next and sweet potatoes are highest. "You lost fat by raising calories. Because of magic and voodoo. Or leptin. One of those." McDonald L. Blog

08-01-2003, 05:05 PM	#13
donescobar2000 The Gym's Disciple Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Your girlfriend bedroom. Haha! Posts: 1,586 Photos: 7	Gosh me and my girlfriend have this arguement all the time. I said it is the same thing. She says its different. I can't tell they both taste the same to me. ]

08-01-2003, 05:08 PM	#14
donescobar2000 The Gym's Disciple Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Your girlfriend bedroom. Haha! Posts: 1,586 Photos: 7	All this talk about pie is going to make me bake a Protein Sweet Potato Pie. ]

08-01-2003, 08:22 PM	#15
Freeman Bearded Attacker Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,648 Photos: 8	I can't find any yams anywhere www.kingsburymusic.net

08-01-2003, 08:26 PM	#16
donescobar2000 The Gym's Disciple Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Your girlfriend bedroom. Haha! Posts: 1,586 Photos: 7	are yo trying to buy some? ]

03-16-2004, 05:31 PM	#23
BabsieGirl Fighting Endometriosis Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 7,495	Bump for someone Don't hate the player, hate the game!http://pages.prodigy.net/rogerlori1/...the%20wave.GIF Before you talk about what you want - appreciate what you have. http://home.earthlink.net/~gwcaton/s...ctures/tmf.jpg A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband. -Honore de Balzac Desire+Consistency='s RESULTS

08-01-2003, 08:58 PM	#17
Freeman Bearded Attacker Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,648 Photos: 8	yeah, I've never had a yam..only sweet potatoes, but no one around here seems to carry them www.kingsburymusic.net

08-01-2003, 10:49 PM	#18
J'Bo Cuddle Slut Join Date: May 2002 Location: Back in Canada Posts: 9,753 Photos: 6	well the opposite is true here in Winnipeg....sweet potatos in only one effin organic store and are $1 each and are the size of a small pototo...yams are everywhere and are HUGE like the size of a small sub and only $1 each. ....and thats my $.02

08-02-2003, 01:51 AM	#19
buff_tat2d_chic Tat2d Freak Elite Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: South Texas Posts: 2,200 Photos: 12	So are they interchangeable for diet purposes? ~health and fitness are a lifestyle~ Pounds lost as of 6/06/09: 4

08-02-2003, 08:46 AM	#20
J'Bo Cuddle Slut Join Date: May 2002 Location: Back in Canada Posts: 9,753 Photos: 6	sweet potatoes actually look like potatoes before you crack them open and see that they are orange...yams are long tuberlike looking things...Yams are higher in sugar then sweet potatoes. If you can get sweet potatos i would stick to them and then carb up on Yams. IMO ....and thats my $.02

08-02-2003, 11:54 AM	#22
J'Bo Cuddle Slut Join Date: May 2002 Location: Back in Canada Posts: 9,753 Photos: 6	your more than welcome ....and thats my $.02

03-16-2004, 06:21 PM	#24
aztecwolf Sackin' up every day Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: san diego Posts: 1,267 Photos: 3	i like sweet potatoes more then yams, they do have a different taste, sweet potatoes i believe are more yellow looking before you cook them and yams have a more orangish color. -Sack Up- "If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" Pink Floyd, Another Brick in the Wall

03-16-2004, 06:31 PM	#26
PreMier happy sumo Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 21,962 Photos: 2	Yams are gross... They are really bland IMO. The Tongan BBQ's I go to use them. P-side Inc. "the post-workout high is more profound than any drug-induced rush imaginable." -Dante B.

03-16-2004, 06:33 PM	#27
nikegurl Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: LA, CA Posts: 5,641	i used to hate 'em but when i'm dieting they become my very favorite thing b/c they taste so crazy sweet. If you want to achieve things that others can't... You have to do things that others won't.

03-16-2004, 07:08 PM	#28
J'Bo Cuddle Slut Join Date: May 2002 Location: Back in Canada Posts: 9,753 Photos: 6	thanks for bumping babs. i am with you ng, i dont care for yams anyother time but dieting season. they are good with mustard to cut the sweetness....but then again i put mustard on everything

03-16-2004, 07:53 PM	#29
nikegurl Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: LA, CA Posts: 5,641	it's weird....if i'm not watching my diet i'd never ever want to eat one. but when i'm being "good" they become this incredible treat. If you want to achieve things that others can't... You have to do things that others won't.

03-16-2004, 08:06 PM	#30
Jill Back to reality Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Re-Motivated Posts: 5,861	I like sweet potatoes way better than yams. Yams are bright orange inside and i think are sweeter. I prefer to spice sweet p's like a french fry, then bake!

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