How many of you out there think a yam and a sweet potato are the same thing?,?

A Sweet Potato is SWEETER than a Yam.

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True yams (from tropical and subtropical regions of the world) contain more starch and less sugar than sweet potatoes -- and they must be cooked before eaten.

African slaves in the South called the sweet potato “nyami” because it reminded them of the starchy, edible tuber of that name that grew in their homeland. The Senegalese word “nyami” was eventually shortened to the word “yam”.

“Yam” also refers to sweet potatoes that are grown in Louisiana. When the orange-fleshed, Puerto Rican variety of sweet potatoes was adopted by Louisiana producers and shippers, they called them “yams” to distinguish them from the white-fleshed sweet potatoes grown in other parts of the country. The yam reference became the trademark for Louisiana-grown sweet potatoes.

There is a difference between sweet potatoes produced in the northern states and those sold in Louisiana. Sweet potatoes produced in the northern states are mostly "firm" and tend to be drier, more mealy, and yellow in flesh. People in Louisiana enjoy the second type, "soft", which is higher in natural sugar, is moister, and has a bright orange flesh color. Most often it is the "soft" type which is referred to as a yam.

http://www.sweetpotato.org/content.php?display=fac...

The orange potato-like vegetable we eat are actually sweet potatoes. But we call them yams or sweet potatoes interchangably. So yes, you can go into the grocery store and buy canned or fresh, sweet potato or yams, it's the same thing. **REAL** yams are hard to find around here. They're from Africa and South East Asia; they are dark, hairy, and reddish. They don't look anything like our sweet potatoes. YOu would have to go looking for them at specialty shops as grocery stores don't generally carry them.

They are two totally different things and not even related. We can't get yams here in the States. The terms yam and sweet potato are used interchangeably here in the US.

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." The following information outlines several differences between sweetpotatoes and yams.

Factor

Sweetpotato

Yam

1.

Scientific Name

Ipomoea batatas

Dioscorea Species

2.

Plant family

Morningglory (Convolvulaceae)

Yam (Dioscoreaceae)

3.

Plant group

Dicotyledon

Monocotyledon

4.

Chromosome number

2n=90 (hexaploid)

2n=20

5.

Flower character

Monoecious

Dioecious

6.

Origin

Tropical America (Peru, Ecuador)

West Africa, Asia

7.

Historical beginning

Prehistoric

50,000 BC

8.

Edible storage organ

Storage root

Tuber

9.

Number/plant

4 to 10

1 to 5

10.

Appearance

Smooth, with thin skin

Rough, scaly

11.

Shape

Short, blocky, tapered ends

Long, cylindrical, some with "toes"

12.

Dry matter

22 to 28%

20 to 35%

13.

Mouth feel

Moist*

Dry

14.

Taste

Sweet*

Starchy

15.

Beta carotene (Vit. A)

High (orange vars.)*

Very low

16.

Propagation

Transplants/vine cuttings

Tuber pieces

17.

Growing season

90 to 150 days (120= Jewel)

180 to 360 days

18.

Maturity

None

At senescence

19.

Storage

(Cured at 80 to 86oF) 55 to 60oF

54 to 61oF

20.

Climatic requirements

Tropical and temperate

Tropical

21.

Availability

Grown in USA

Imported from Caribbean

They pretty much are, but they're technically not as far as I know. Personally, I prefer the yam. But I call it a sweet potato. Pick the one that's orange on the inside!

I think that yams and sweet potatoes are the same thing because they are both orange. They taste the same too.

I do.

My Grammy never spanked me for bringing home a sweet potato instead of a yam.

THEY ARENT

The sweet potato is found in tropical America and is a part of the Morning Glory family.

The yam is a tuber (a bulb) of a tropical vine found in Central & South America, as well as the West Indies, Africa and Asia.

A sweet potato is just a potato. Yams are cooked and prepared.

i use sweet potatoes to make candied yams but i have heard there is actualy a fruit that is called yam that is found n asia.