Sweet potato vs. yam: what's the difference?

[kpete]

Sweet potato vs. yam: what's the difference?

For hundreds of years, sweet potatoes across the United States have been masquerading as "yams." The truth is most Americans have probably never eaten a real yam. Here's a two-minute explanation of the centuries-old confusion:

http://www.vox.com/2015/11/23/9782604/difference-sweet-potatoes-yams

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Sweet potatoes are horrible. If I've never had a real yam,

I don't know whether they are horrible, too.

[Xipe Totec]

2. Horrible? Really? Maybe they were not cooked right.

Properly prepared sweet potatoes are sweet and caramely.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. They are too sweet, and I don't like the texture.

I especially dislike that traditional Thanksgiving casserole with sweet potatoes, brown sugar and marshmallows. Way too gooey and sweet.

[Xipe Totec]

5. Ah! That explains a lot.

The way I've had them has no sugar or marshmallows whatsoever.

You simply wrap the sweet potato in foil and bake it in the oven. It will caramelize and produce its own sweet juices. Then you serve it with butter. It's sweet, but not cloyingly sweet.

[murielm99]

6. That' the way I like them.

I have made the casserole, but I prefer plain old baked sweet potatoes.

I like sweet potato pie, too.

[1monster]

8. I love sweet potatoes with brown sugar and butter, but keep the marshmallows! Way

to ruin a great food.

[jwirr]

13. Years ago my aunt made a caserol with sweet potatoes and

red hot candies on the top. Loved it but have never found the recipe for it again. No marshmallows.

[1monster]

16. Sounds like cinnamon hots, maybe?

[jwirr]

18. I think that is it. She used what we call red hot candies in

it and I suspect they are mostly cinnamon.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. Thankgiving and Christmas are the only times of the year when that can be called "food".

[OnyxCollie]

19. Ever have Fluffy Stuff?

It's so good, it has to be an alien life form.

[IMG][/IMG]

I think it's made out of pudding, Kool Whip, bananas, and crack.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

21. They have the nerve to call it "ambrosia"....

Can't WAIT until weed becomes a holiday tradition.

[Enrique]

22. I puree them

chop them up, simmer them in coconut milk and chicken broth and curry paste, then blend them a little and cook some other veggies in the puree. I don't like their normal texture either, but I like the taste and the nutrition is supposed to be fantastic.

[AtomicKitten]

3. Sweet potato pie is pretty awesome.

[TlalocW]

27. I made that once

And it just tasted like pumpkin pie. Maybe I don't have the palette necessary to distinguish the two.

TlalocW

[PatrickforO]

26. I have never liked sweet potatoes and don't like them now.

[jamzrockz]

7. Yup

Having grown up in Nigeria and then coming to America, it was really strange seeing sweet potatoes being advertised as yams. But then again, a lot of other things had their American names. People called biscuits cookies, sweets as candies, a compound as a yard and so on. I thought it was just one of those things where the rest of the world calls it xxx and the Americans called it yyyy.

I am trying to see how I can describe the taste for the 1st poster but I don't think I can do it justice. It's not generally not sugary(some varieties can be sugary) and is a little starchy. It has a totally different texture than Irish/sweet potato, its firmer than both potatoes.

If you really want to try it, just visit any African store in most states and pick it up. You can fry it (just have to boil it for a bit first), cook a porridge dish with it, mash it like mashed potatoes etc. Its sorta like a blank slate with which you can cook just about anything you can make with a potato.

[Gloria]

10. The ONLY way to cook one of these guys is....not what you think...super easy!!!!!!

1. Wash
2. Don't dry, put directly into an ungreased crockpot
3. I like to put foil over the of the crock before I put the top on, but it's not necessary
4. Put the crock on HIGH...

ANd let it GO...depending on the size and number of these guys, it may take a couple or a few hours. You will start to smell
awesome goodness.

Cook them until you like them...a bit firmer for later re-use in a recipe or very soft....which I usually do anyway...because I make spreads out of them rather than eating garbage spreads...

The sweeties will come out VERY SWEET, you will NOT need any sugar or anything....they are "candied" without being candied!!!!!

[MrMickeysMom]

12. Excellent, Gloria...

I just posted a SP pie, but I could cut the sugar down if I did my potatoes this way first!

[Gloria]

14. Absolutely, this is the best way ever...

I did the boiling thing, baking thing (dry), and the discovered this somehow...I eat them every day as they are very good for maintaining stable blood sugar levels...sustained energy!

SO EASY and SO GOOD!!!!!!!! Cook them until VERY soft, almost mushy for maximum sweetness....


My easy spread is to mash a portion up, through in Mrs. Dash, some garlic powder ....you could add a bit of olive oil if you want, but I don't ....and if you let it "sit" for awhile, the flavors blend beautifully!!

[MrMickeysMom]

15. How long do you figure I can leave it in the slow cooker?

Can I forget about it for 5 or 6 hours?

[Gloria]

20. That might be a bit long....I just do it on the weekends or put them on so they

cook during the evening and they are ready before bed...

It just depends on their size and how many.... I only do a couple at a time, and it might take 3 hours or so....

I check once I smell a lot of good smells, with a fork, and if not soft enough, just let them keep going...

[MrMickeysMom]

11. Sweet potato pie.... Do you good when you make it this way ...

1 - 10 inch pie crust
2 3/4 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar, or less to taste
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup Myers rum
2 large eggs
1 (7 ounce) can evaporated milk (or re-constitute non-instant milk, making it thick)
pinch of orange peel (dried)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (f)
Beat the sweet potatoes and butter with an electric mixer until smooth, add sugar, nutmeg and rum, and continue beating until incorporated.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add milk, beating continuously. Stir in the orange peel.

Transfer filling to the pie crust, and smooth the top with a spoon.

Bake until pie is set in the center and lightly brown, about 40 minutes

That'll teach ya not to like sweet potatoes...

[Thespian2]

17. Thanks for the recipe...

I will try it out soon...

Love sweet 'taters...we used to cook them in foil on the embers of a camp fire...Little butter and you've got dessert...

[SoapBox]

25. On DU - Cooking and Baking Group

I hope everyone will post their recipes and Sweet Potato vs. Yam info in the Cooking and Baking Group.

Check it out if you have never been there...it's one of THE best areas of DU!

[MrMickeysMom]

29. That is one of my FAVORITE forum...

I know... I'll cross post the recipe. I was in a hurry when I posted this yesterday.

[Kilgore]

28. Going to try it

Ever consider topping it with pecans?

[rsacamano]

23. Best recipe:

Bake to hell, mash with minced ginger, some butter, add cardamom. My own recipe.

[SoapBox]

24. Very, very interesting!

Love this information.

[dmosh42]

30. I grow about 40-50 lbs each year for the wife and I, and I cook them in the microwave after....

poking holes in the potato. The store bought potatoes might be sitting around all year before you get it, losing some of it's goodness along the way. I cure them for a month or so after picking, then I store them at room temperature, where they last as long as you want. I cook them in the microwave until I can poke a hole easily, then I scoop out the potato and put some butter on it. I save the skin, putting butter in that too, and then you're really living!

[Mosby]

31. The sweet potato: A near perfect food

Low in calories, high in everything else. If you don't eat sweet potatoes, you're missing out on one of nature's truly perfect foods. Besides being low in calories, they are high in fiber, great for diabetics and people who are carbohydrate sensitive, and packed with vitamins and minerals. Nutritionists have rated them the number one healthiest vegetable. In addition, they are delectable and versatile.

http://hubpages.com/food/httpwwwThesweetpotatoAnearperfectfoodcom

Sweet potatoes make a really good dog food base, better than rice.