Boss and former coworker got into a very amusing argument over this and it got me curious.
yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Yams have rough, dark brown skin that is often compared to tree bark, and their flesh is dry and starchy like a regular potato. Sweet potatoes have smooth reddish skin, softer flesh (when cooked), and a sweet flavor.
fubo@lemmy.world 11 months ago
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.
Lauchs@lemmy.world 11 months ago
This guy knows his potatoes.
ebits21@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew.
ohlaph@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I’m rather impressed.
Bonehead@kbin.social 11 months ago
The only question is...Idaho or PEI?
TheSaneWriter@lemmy.thesanewriter.com 11 months 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.
key@lemmy.keychat.org 11 months 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.
MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
Mmmmm, oca. Also in New Zealand… kūmara.
bron@kbin.social 11 months 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.
wcdmanz@lemmy.nz 11 months ago
And now do kūmara! They sometimes get called sweet potatoes in New Zealand
fubo@lemmy.world 11 months 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.