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In the US yams and sweet potatoes are just names given to two different kinds of sweet potatoes. As a matter of fact, the soft kind, with orange flesh, which some people call yams, are required by law to also say Sweet Potatoes on the cartons. The firmer kind, with a light yellow to white flesh, are simply referred to as sweet potatoes, because they more closely resemble potatoes.
This article explains the language confusion:
Quote:
"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."
Compared to sweet potatoes, real yams are starchier and drier, and most people in the US have never even seen one. They are primarily eaten in Africa and S. America.
Yes, they are two different vegetables. There are two kinds of sweet potato: light skin and dark skin. Those with light yellow skin, have pale yellow flesh which is not sweet and has a dry, crumbly texture similar to a white baking potato.
The darker-skinned variety (which is most often called "yam" in error) has a thicker, dark orange to reddish skin with a vivid orange, sweet flesh and a moist texture.
Yams are not related to sweet potatoes. They are long ( sometimes several feet long ) and generally sweeter than than the sweet potato. The yam tuber has a brown or black skin which resembles the bark of a tree and off-white, purple or red flesh, depending on the variety.
Yams contain more natural sugar than sweet potatoes and have a higher moisture content.
All of the so-called "yams" in stores are actually just a variety of sweet potatoes. True yams are rarely available in the U.S. They are sometimes sold in Oriental Markets.
Real fresh sweet potatoes ( like from farmers) are uncured and not so sweet. The cured ones are sold in the stores, and are sweeter.
I love the ones with the dark orange flesh, but when I choose the sweet potatoes with the dark red skin in my supermarket, they must be a kind of hybrid because the flesh, when I cut them open, is yellow and they don't taste as sweet. It's been a long time since I've seen the really sweet ones that are bright orange inside in my local supermarket. I get a feeling that they may spoil faster.
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