yams vs. sweet potatoes

17 years ago

What's the difference in taste between yams and sweet potatoes? I have a recipe that calls for slicing and roasting a sweet potato and I accidentlly bought yams. Can I substitute?

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Comments (6)

compumom
17 years ago
Yams are by far our favorite! You can roast them with great results, enjoy!
malna
17 years ago
Almost everything labeled a "yam" here in North America is really a sweet potato. Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea) and yams (Dioscorea) are distantly related botanically speaking, but unless you find true yams in an ethnic market, grocery-store "sweet potatoes" and "yams" are the same thing.
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The names are used SO interchangeably that I used to get confused.. A lot of sweet potatoes in my area are sold as yams. I don't even think I've seen a true yam in real life but from what I see from pics, true yams have a slight woody appearance. http://www.kitchendaily.com/read/yam-sweet-potato
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Aldi had them last week for 29-cents a pound, so I stocked-up. Sweet potatoes require cool storage (55-60-degrees F), but a refrigerator is too cool for long storage. For immediate use, I place them in a large paper bag with air-vents cut into the bag for air circulation, and store them in a dark, cool place in the basement for one - two months. I'd suggest cooking/freezing them in slices and vacuum-sealing them with a FoodSaver. I also cook and mash them and spread a thin layer on fruit roll-up sheets and dehydrate them. As soon as they are set on the sheets enough to remove from the sheets, I put them on the dehydrator trays and continue to dry them until they are crisp dry. At that point I pulverize them into a powder and store it in a canning jar. To rehydrate them for "instant" mashed sweet potatoes, add enough hot water to make it the consistency you want. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: freezing sweet potatoes
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Not exactly a classic Turkey Day sweet potato recipe, but you might want to try it now that sweet potatoes are plentiful! Take care to keep your "fries" uniform in size. Small ones will burn before larger ones get done, otherwise. I like the seasonings in this recipe! Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe by Our Best Bites 1 lb peeled sweet potatoes cut into 1/4" match-sticks 2 T extra virgin olive oil 1/2 t cumin 1/2 t oregano 1/2 t coriander 1 t kosher salt 1 t parsley 1/8 tsp black pepper *you want 1lb sweet potatoes after they are peeled, sliced, etc. If you weigh them at the store make sure you have a little more than a pound to allow for the peeling, and tossing of small pieces. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl combine cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, parsley, and pepper. Place sweet potatoes in a pile directly on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Use hands to toss until all pieces are well coated. Sprinkle seasoning mixture on top and toss again with hands to coat. Arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer so that pieces are not touching each other. Place pan in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Use a metal spatula to gently flip fries and then return pan to oven. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes or until fries are starting to lightly brown and crisp. Remove pan from oven and cool 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
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Sweet potatoes vs. yams
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Comments (11)
Interesting discussion. The Library of Congress is a wonderful organization. Just OT, I visited the LC for the first time in September 2011. As a librarian, it was an absolutely wonderful experience, considering the huge international influence LC has in the library world. Like visiting a shrine for this geek ! LOL
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mst___
Original Author
17 years ago
Gina_W
17 years ago
Here they are not the same. What's commonly labeled "sweet potatoes" are pale yellow-fleshed and starchy like a regular potato. "Yams" are orange-fleshed and moister.

Although, according to some, the 2 I mention above are both different types of sweet potatoes and we don't really see yams in our markets.

But the tubers labeled "yams" at the grocery are the orange-fleshed ones. I DID buy tubers that were unlabeled
at the Korean grocery and they looked like the orange-fleshed "yams" but they turned out to be the yellow-fleshed "sweet potatoes". I like them both, but I like to get the orange-fleshed ones for the beta-carotene.

R U confused yet? LOL.
lindac
17 years ago
I remember having what they called "sweet potatoes" in Kenya that looked like russets but tasted like yams....go figure.
Seems to me I remember that ipomea are long and skinny and yams, dioscorea, are shorter and fatter....
but I just buy the most orange.
Linda
ltcollins1949
17 years ago
Growing up in the Midwest, I only heard about sweet potatoes. Then I moved to the South and everyone talked about yams. I finally found out that they are not the same thing, but in the South when they refer to yams, they are actually talking about "sweet potatoes". You might want to check out the Google search on sweet potatoes vs. yams.

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yams vs. sweet potatoes

Comments (6)

compumom

malna

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mst___
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yams vs. sweet potatoes

Comments (6)

compumom

malna

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mst___Original Author

Gina_W

lindac

ltcollins1949

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mst___
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