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Comment on What’s the difference between yams and sweet potatoes?

The name “yam” is used for a few different root vegetables.

The word is from West Africa and refers originally to Dioscorea yams, which are found in many parts of the world.

But in the US, “yam” often refers to a variety of sweet-potato (Ipomoea genus), which is more closely related to a morning-glory flower than to either Dioscorea or a true potato (which is a Solanum nightshade).

Meanwhile in New Zealand, a “yam” is a tuber from some Oxalis plants, close relatives of sourgrass and redwood sorrel.

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Lauchs@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
This guy knows his potatoes.

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- ebits21@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew.
  
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- ohlaph@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I’m rather impressed.
  
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- Bonehead@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  The only question is...Idaho or PEI?
  
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TheSaneWriter@lemmy.thesanewriter.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I see. So it’s a little bit like how in the U.S. pickles refers to pickled cucumbers, but in other places pickles can refer to other pickled foods. Yams are to sweet potatoes what pickles are to pickled cucumbers.

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- key@lemmy.keychat.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Another fun layer I’ve encountered recently has been “pickles” referring to a specific variety of (non-pickled) cucumbers that are usually used for pickling. So pickles are pickled pickles.
  
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  - XTL@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    That’s totally pickled.
    
    Where has that video disappeared?
    
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  - RedAggroBest@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Gherkins are pickled cucumbers originally. Now Gherkins are the name used by brands in the US for the baby pickles.
    
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MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Mmmmm, oca. Also in New Zealand… kūmara.

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bron@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Neat, so yams in the US refer to a sweet potato? Slightly related, but can you also explain the difference between Ube and Taro? I've had this conversation with my friends as well.

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wcdmanz@lemmy.nz ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
And now do kūmara! They sometimes get called sweet potatoes in New Zealand

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- fubo@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Looking them up, it sounds like they’re the same species as American sweet-potato, which is one more bit of evidence for early contact between Polynesians and South America.
  
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  - ratumoko@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I believe they are different. Kumala (in Fijian) is very different than a yam. Yams are more tubular, and the skin will skip off after and kumala is more bulbous,
    
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