are yams and sweet potatoes from the same family?
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In fact, these tasty starchy veggies are actually in two different plant families entirely! Yams are members of the genus Dioscorea and are in their own special family, Dioscoreaceae. ... Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, come from the species Ipomoea batatas, in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae.
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Potatoes are part of the nightshade family. This includes white, red, yellow and blue-skinned potato varieties. However according to the University of California, San Francisco sweet potatoes and yam are not nightshades.
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Sweet potatoes are often touted as being healthier than white potatoes, but in reality, both types can be highly nutritious. While regular and sweet potatoes are comparable in their calorie, protein, and carb content, white potatoes provide more potassium, whereas sweet potatoes are incredibly high in vitamin A.
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They are now commonly found in the Caribbean and Latin America as well. Over 600 varieties of yams are known, and 95% of these are still grown in Africa. Compared to sweet potatoes, yams can grow very large. Size can vary from that of a small potato to up to 5 feet (1.5 meters).
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But the truth is, they're not yams — and it's very likely most Americans have never eaten a real yam. Real yams originated in and are now mostly commercially grown in Africa. Everything produced and sold in the United States as a yam is really a sweet potato.
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Native to Africa and Asia, yams vary in size from that of a small potato to a record 130 pounds (as of 1999). There are over 600 varieties of yams and 95% of these crops are grown in Africa. Compared to sweet potatoes, yams are starchier and drier.
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Yam — Soft sweet potato with a copper skin and deep orange flesh. Sweet potato — Firm sweet potato with golden skin and lighter flesh.
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But when it comes to nutrition, sweet potatoes score much higher. Compared with yams, sweet potatoes are lower in calories and have far more beta-carotene (11.5 compared with 0.07 milligrams for each one-half cup), an antioxidant nutrient thought to guard against certain cancers.
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Yams originated in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Africans call yams “nyami,” which is where we get the word “yam.” They are cylindrical and vary in size.
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Yams are more difficult to grow and take much longer to be ready for harvest. They have rough skin, which is more difficult to peel than the skin of sweet potatoes. Yams are a vigorous herbaceous vine that will climb on anything – some vines grow up to 8 inches in a day!
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When they are cooked, the texture is very moist and slightly stringy. Cooked orange-fleshed sweet potatoes have a similar texture to that of a yam, however the white-fleshed variety are not as sweet and have more of a grainy texture, like a regular potato.
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Bruce's canned yams (sweet potatoes) use only the tender most part of the sweet potato called the sweetheart. As the number one selling canned sweet potato in the U. S. it has been referred to as America's favorite – sweetheart. Certified by the American Heart Association.
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In fact, these tasty starchy veggies are actually in two different plant families entirely! Yams are members of the genus Dioscorea and are in their own special family, Dioscoreaceae. They are tubers, like potatoes, and are mostly cultivated in tropical parts of the world.
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Resistant Starch If you can find true yams (usually found in African or Caribbean markets), feel free to give them a try, because they are definitely Paleo. If you can only find the sweet potatoes masquerading as yams in your typical grocery store, go for it, because those are Paleo, too.
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Meet Yacon, the Unsung Sweet Potato. ... An ancient staple in South America's Andes Mountains, yacon is a sweet potato-like root vegetable that tastes like an apple. It's primarily composed of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), a tongue-twisting term for a natural sugar that tastes sweet but is indigestible.
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Sweet potatoes and yams are completely different vegetables. However, they're both nutritious, tasty and versatile additions to the diet. Sweet potatoes tend to be more readily available and are nutritionally superior to yams — albeit only slightly.
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Both yams and yuca are similar to potatoes and can be prepared almost the same way. We've had them both fried, and I've attempted to mash both of them (yams did better) and I tried grating the yuca once.