Posted on Wednesday, 25th November 2009 by admin
Sweet potatoes…yams, is there really any difference? And if there is, is it really that big a deal? After all, they look the same, cook the same, taste the same…don’t they? Really want to know? Read on!
What’s In A Name?
The meal is finished, the dishes done and we all sit back and enjoy the memories of the foods served Thanksgiving day…roast turkey, stuffing, candied yams, sweet potato pie…
Candied yams and sweet potato pie? Why not candied sweet potatoes and yam pie? After all, what’s the difference between them, anyway?
Truth be told…a whole lot!
First, The Science:
Sweet potatoes are part of the Morning Glory plant family and are grown in the United States as well as other areas containing tropical climates. There color can vary significantly, depending on the variety, and the skin is smooth and thin.
Yams are more closely related to Lilies and are grown mainly in Africa and Asia. With a rough and scaly outer skin, the more than 600 known varieties of yams vary widely in size, yet largely maintain a more tubular shape than the sweet potato. Historically, it is believed the sweet potato predates the yam.
Second, The Nutrition:
In reality, the sweet potato is packed with nutritional goodness. It has enough vitamin A in one serving to provide an adult with nearly 8 times his or her daily nutritional requirement! This is an amazing benefit when one considers the fact that vitamin A is a fat soluble not water soluble vitamin. In other words, all the benefits of the huge amounts of vitamin A are able to be garnered. In addition, sweet potatoes are a great source calcium, phosphorous, and potassium.
Conversely, yams, while also packed with calcium, phosphorous, and potassium, contain only trace amounts of vitamin A.
In other words, when you compare a sweet potato to a yam, one sweet potato goes a long way toward good health!
Third, The Taste:
When it comes to taste, sweet potatoes and yams are really quite different. Yams have more of a starchy, dry texture and flavor, while sweet potatoes are sweeter and more moist.
Fourth: The Bottom Line
The Department of Agriculture requires that the moniker ‘yam’ always be accompanied with ‘sweet potato.’ As such, if you are looking for true yams, the best place to find them would be an international market, otherwise, you are probably buying sweet potatoes. No worries though, as these versatile vegetables are nutritious, easy to prepare, and oh, so, delicious!
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Tags: Sweet, Sweet Potatoesyamswhats
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