Did you know that yams ( Dioscorea alata ) and sweet white potato ( Ipomoea batatas ) are two completely different vegetable ? If you are surprised to learn this fact , you are not alone , as the name calling fresh potato and yams are often used interchangeably and also look very standardised and are often mislabeled at grocery store , especially in the western world , which leads to a lot of muddiness .
Many westerners have in all likelihood never tasted a yam plant before , as they are much more popular in and prevalent in the culinary tradition of African and Asiatic country and are hard to find in the state .
Both sweet potatoes and yams form underground as tubers and they are both goodish additions to most any diet , although their wellness benefits and nutritional values are moderately different from each other . Though sweet potatoes and yams are both root vegetables that are highly nutritious in their own direction , the similarity between the two essentially end flop there .
Though often disordered , sweet potatoes and yams come from flora that are not even closely related . fresh potato are dicots , or plants that contain dual embryonic semen leaves . dulcet potatoes are a extremity of the aurora glory plant family , or the Convolvulacea family line . Yams , on the other hand , are monocotyledon , meaning they only have one embryologic seed foliage . yam are from the yam plant family , which is also called the Dioscoreaceae family .
In the Benjamin West , sweet spud are often mislabeled as yam , but the two tuberous vegetable are in reality quite unlike . In this article , we break down the differences between the two Tuber , then we ’ll discuss the two main grounds why they are so often disoriented and mislabled in the US .
What Are Sweet Potatoes?
There are over 400 varieties of sweet potatoes . The various sweet potato varieties have skins ranging from a reddish brown or orangeish brown , to a easygoing white , beige , or tan , to even purple - skinned varieties . The flesh can be either orangish , white , or empurple as well . cherubic potato varieties strike into two distinct category , which are unshakable and soft . After being cooked , fast varieties of sweet potato continue very firm , while easy mixed bag become both soft and moist , stark for cooking and feeding .
What Are Yams?
There are over 600 different yam plant varieties , 95 % of which are native to Africa . The other five percent hail from Asiatic countries . The various yam varieties can diverge greatly in size . Some grow to about the same size of it as a small angelical Solanum tuberosum , while other change can produce massive craw as enceinte as 130 pounds . Yams commonly have clean or light beige physical body and skin that is chocolate-brown and stringy , like to the out shell of a coconut . yam have flesh that is much more starchy and much drier than the flesh of sweet potatoes . Sweet Solanum tuberosum flesh , peculiarly the soft varieties , is fond , sugared , and moist .
Two Reasons for the Confusion
There are two distinct reasons why the public figure of the two genus Tuber vegetables are so often confused in the US . First , African slaves get calling sugared potatoes yam plant because the diffuse scented white potato that they found in the US resemble the yams they would fix and run through in their motherland . To describe the soft variety of honeyed potato from the hard varieties , African slaves would refer to them as yam .
In Louisiana , sweet-flavored Irish potato farmers did n’t start out train soft sweet potato varieties until the 1930 ’s . They decide to commercialize the unexampled varieties of sweet potatoes as yams in lodge to distinguish them from the hard salmagundi , as well as the produce that was brought into Louisiana grocery from other states .
So , the name yams broadcast throughout the Dixie and beyond due to two dissimilar line of descent of misinformation . call perfumed potato yams dates back to two different misidentifications , both of which originated centuries ago in American account , and continue to cause confusedness to this Clarence Day .
Basic Information on Yams and the Three Different Types of Sweet Potatoes
Yams
Yams , in comparison to sweet-smelling potatoes , are less sweet and moist , and more similar to the yucca plant in both flavor and texture . Yams have a tough , rough sin that is dark brown and textured like the taboo shell of a coconut , or like a tree trunk . Their flesh is starchy or else of sweet , with a flavor standardised to the common white russet potatoes , but with a more stringy grain . yam have more complex carbs than sweet potatoes and are commonly prepared by boiling . Yams have a rather inert flavor , and are common features of Caribbean and West African cuisines , where they are commonly process with braised meats as a side dish . They are quite hard to retrieve in America , as they are not a big part of our culinary custom . Real yams are usually not available in American grocery stores , but can sometimes be found in international market stores or specialty stores .
Orange Sweet Potatoes
Orange cherubic potatoes are the salmagundi readers are most likely to be familiar with from their own kitchens , where we use them in routine dish like french fries or bake sweet spud as well as to create classic Thanksgiving sides and pie . Within the class of orange scented potatoes , the individual varieties are like enough that they can be interchanged with one another without an issue , as the differences that be in their level of sweetness , amount of wet , and the direction they taste are elusive .
Beauregard : These potatoes are from Louisiana , where they are still produce today . They have brown skin and a deeper sweetness than other type .
Garnet : This fresh Irish potato variety has a reddish tegument , and the flesh of the potatoes try more like that of a pumpkin vine than other diversity of sweet potato do .
Jewel : In this sort from California , the skin is coppery orange while the anatomy is earthy , with a mild , sweet taste .
White Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes resemble the received white baking potato that resembles russet potatoes . However , unlike russet , white sweet Irish potato proffer many of the same nutrient as orange 1 do . They do n’t have quite as much beta carotene as orange odoriferous potatoes , though .
White sweet potatoes also vary from the orange variety in their texture , which is a routine drier . When the Irish potato are roasted , they get more chaw and solidness than in other provision due to the reduced moisture floor they propose . Braising white angelical potatoes over abject oestrus for a long period of time effect in a dishful where the Irish potato feel creamy and silky while still keeping the shape they ’ve been sliced or diced into ..
This name white sweet potatoes really tasty when they ’re used in dishes like gnocchi that allow the chef to adjust the moisture degree of the dish aerial with a bit of flexibility and exemption . In increase to gnocchi , clean cherubic potatoes work exceptionally well with acidulous sauces such as the South American sauce that ’s similar to pesto name chimichurri .
Purple Sweet Potatoes
In addition to their intense and unexpected people of color , purple mellifluous potatoes pack a punch of the flavonoid called anthocyanins . You ’ll obtain anthocyanins in blueberries , where they ’re responsible for the antioxidants these fruit contain as well as their trademark indigo specter . The color of royal odoriferous spud is likely to phlebotomize out of the veggie when cook .
Okinawan : The Hawaiian over-embellished sweet potato call Okinawan produces tater whose chassis is recognize and streaked with purple instead of having entirely transform . The people of color of Okinawan purplish sweet white potato is susceptible to bleed out of the potatoes as they cook . However , this can be avoid by preparing Okinawan potatoes by ridicule , frying , or sautéeing them .
Stokes : This purple scented Irish potato is the most popular with consumers . Stokes sweet-scented white potato vine have a odorous flavor that ’s nutty , like chestnut tree .
Nutritional Values and Health Benefits of Yams and Sweet Potatoes
Despite their similarities across various family , yams and sweet Solanum tuberosum still have pot of area where they differ from one another . Unsurprisingly , their nutritional subject is no unlike . In the information below , statistic for fresh potatoes and yam are provided for the raw vegetable unless otherwise specify .
Precautions for Yams and Sweet Potatoes
Though both yam and sweet potatoes are mostly cogitate of as sizeable intellectual nourishment that are well addition to diet , each come with an untoward impression that consumer should be cognizant of . sugared potatoes bear considerably high level of oxalate , which are naturally occurring compounds present in a sort of foods . These by nature occurring compounds normally cause no serious damage to most mass , but for multitude who are peculiarly susceptible to kidney stones , oxalate intake is a serious concern . If your consistency is prone to kidney stone formation , you should be especially careful about run through oxalate - rich foods , such as sweet murphy , as the oxalates present in certain fruits and vegetables , can build up in your system and form stones .
Sweet murphy are safe to rust in both cooked and in the buff forms , but many yam varieties are only safe to devour after they are cook . This is due to course forming plant life protein that occur naturally in yam which can be toxic and can make malady if they are consume bleak . Peeling and cooking these yam varieties withdraw any toxic factor and makes them safe for consumption .
Yams and fresh potatoes are completely different root vegetables that have been erroneously mislabled for eld , though they are both tasty , nutritious and resourceful vegetable that are neat additions to most diets . dulcet potatoes are easier to find in America , and are slightly more alimental than yam , which are more common in African and Asian countries . If you enjoy sweet vegetables with a smoother , moister texture , stick with sweet potatoes . If you like starchier vegetable with drier textures , you may really enjoy adding yams to your diet , though you may have to grow them yourself if you ca n’t find them in an international grocery depot in your area . Sweet potatoes and yam are both good choice for a healthy nourishing - rich diet .
Learn More About Sweet Potatoes and Yams
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/difference-between-sweet-potato-and-yam
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/sweet-potatoes-vs-yams
