Yams

What's the difference between a yam and a sweet potato?

Re: Yams

I just googled it and apparently they are not even related to eachother. But when cooking, I believe they are interchangeable.

http://oldfashionedliving.com/yams.html

eta: I also found this on another site:

Why the confusion?
In the United States, firm varieties of sweet potatoes were produced before soft varieties. When soft varieties were first grown commercially, there was a need to differentiate between the two. African slaves had already been calling the ‘soft’ sweet potatoes ‘yams’ because they resembled the yams in Africa. Thus, ‘soft’ sweet potatoes were referred to as ‘yams’ to distinguish them from the ‘firm’ varieties.

Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires labels with the term ‘yam’ to be accompanied by the term ‘sweet potato.’ Unless you specifically search for yams, which are usually found in an international market, you are probably eating sweet potatoes!

Message edited 11/22/2010 11:49:59 AM.