Differences between sweet potato and yam. A sweet potato is also a starchy tuberous crop from South or Central America with smooth orangish, reddish or brownish skin and red or orange flesh. The flesh of a yam is typically white and firm, while the flesh of a sweet potato is orange in color. Sweet potatoes are often touted as being healthier than white potatoes, but in reality, both types can be highly nutritious. You can distinguish a yam from a sweet potato before you even bite in. A superior sweet potato! Yam is different from Potato as yam is bigger and has rough skin . Whereas, sweet potato is an edible vegetable that comes in a wide variety of colors from white to pale to purple. Often, the copper skinned sweet potato is referred to as yam, or sweet potato yam, and these are a firmer version of sweet … The Hannah Sweet Potato is one of the most popular white varieties. Different stores and growers label them different ways. Okinawa’s famous “purple yam” is also a sweet potato, not a real yam. There are distinct differences between a yam vs. a sweet potato. It differs greatly from the sweetpotato in taste, texture, appearance and family. When using the term “yam” on labels for what are actually sweet potatoes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also requires the label to include the phrase “sweet potato,” she said. For the control subjects fed with sweet potato, all three hormone parameters measured were not changed after intervention. Although the soft, orange sweet potato is often called a "yam" in parts of North America, the sweet potato is very distinct from the botanical yam (Dioscorea), which has a cosmopolitan distribution, and belongs to the monocot family Dioscoreaceae.A different crop plant, the oca (Oxalis tuberosa, a species of wood sorrel), is called a "yam" in many parts of Polynesia, including New Zealand. They decided to market the new varieties of sweet potatoes as yams in order to distinguish them from the hard varieties, as well as the produce that was brought into Louisiana markets from other states. If the insides are pure white (as opposed to cream), it's likely a yam. You can learn how to cook yam porridge in the video above. Bottom Line: If its insides are orange and its skin is smooth and coppery, you should always call it a sweet potato. Technically, both sweet potatoes and yams come from flowering plants… but they are actually not botanically related! Wrong. Of course, in North America, sweet potatoes are often called yams. Share 3 Pin 1 Tweet 2 Send. The sweet, rich flavor of a sweet potato won’t work in a dish suited to the relatively bland, dry yam. What is a yam?. Yams are closely related to lilies and grasses. Yams are the tuberous roots of the genus Dioscorea. Sweet potatoes originated in North America, first joining market shelves alongside the white potato as far back as the late 1600s. The same serving of yams has 80 calories, 19 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of fiber. In that case, a substitution would likely suffice. Yams and sweet potatoes have differences in both appearance, taste and origin. Sweet Potato vs Yam. Dice, … Therefore, it’s entirely possible that you’re looking at a sweet potato mislabeled “yam” at your local grocery store. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Yams. The whole yam vs. sweet potato mix-up is both fascinating and frustrating to me. The characteristics of sweet potatoes and yams are also different. When African slaves encountered the sweet potato they called it a yam, as it reminded them of the tubers from their homeland. Sweet potatoes are members of … It is rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Sweet potatoes are tapered and prolonged vegetables, covered with smooth skin, which color varies from beige, yellow, orange to red, purple or brown. Even the diagram visually showing a “sweet potato” and a “yam” is incorrect, in fact you don’t even have a sweet potato in the picture at all! Oh, so wrong. But back then, the sweet potato was also white or yellow in color. It is a member of the Convolvulaceae family, which includes the morning glory flower. Yams and sweet potatoes are in fact two different root vegetables. Sweet potatoes generally come from either Central or South America. The difference between Yams and Sweet Potatoes are many and you will also learn the similarities of Sweet Potato vs Yam. These vegetables both provide key nutrients, but one is a root and the other is a tuber. NUTRITIONAL VALUE Rachael points out that yams have a much higher sugar content, while sweet potatoes are the most nutrient dense, per weight, that you can buy in the produce department. Yam vs. sweet potato On the left is a typical yam sold in the US (actually a variety of sweet potato), and on the right is a sweet potato. Thank you for the sweet potato & yam info. Popular varieties of soft sweet potatoes are the Jewel Yam and Garnet Yam. And, unless you shop in a specialty store, it’s likely that you’ve only purchased sweet potatoes (even if they were labeled as yams).In the US, sweet potatoes are the sweet, orange potato typically found in supermarkets. Homemade oven sweet potato fries recipe: Wash sweet potatoes and slice lengthwise into halves, then again into 1-inch wedges. The flesh also varies depending on the type from purple to orange or to white. Try butter-roasted sweet potatoes; sweet potato salad; twice-baked sweet potatoes or simply dice and roast in the oven for an easy side dish. The potato on the left is a yuca potato, as you can clearly tell by the darker, rough, skin. Yams are rough, scaly, difficult to peel and very low in beta-carotene. 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