Submitted 1 year ago by StealthToad@lemmy.world to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Boss and former coworker got into a very amusing argument over this and it got me curious.
Our cans of sweet potatoes have an alternate label on the back that says yams, so apparently not much. (This is in the USA)
You have sweet potato’s in cans? That sounds awful.are they pre-cooked? I don’t understand why?
They’re quicker for making sweet potato pie since they’re already cooked. You add plenty of other ingredients to the filling so there’s less difference in the final product between canned and fresh
They’re primarily used in as an ingredient. Often they are suspended in a sweet syrup and are thoroughly mashed to make a pie filling, it’s actually not bad.
Yep. Like these:
USA has thanksgiving in a can, Christmas dinner in a can, even SPAM in a can.
yeah it says they're yams, but they have no relation to yams at all
Is that the reason the other guy is now a former coworker?
My 2009 beater is great because it has no smart shit it in at all. I wouldn’t buy a newer car unless it had a standard enough dash that I can replace whatever dumbass restriction smart app shit system it comes with.
fubo@lemmy.world 1 year 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 1 year ago
This guy knows his potatoes.
ebits21@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew.
ohlaph@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’m rather impressed.
Bonehead@kbin.social 1 year ago
The only question is...Idaho or PEI?
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.
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.
MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Mmmmm, oca. Also in New Zealand… kūmara.
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.
wcdmanz@lemmy.nz 1 year ago
And now do kūmara! They sometimes get called sweet potatoes in New Zealand
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.