Sweet Potato vs Yam

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kevindhaliwal
kevindhaliwal Posts: 17 Member
in Food and Nutrition
this might be a stupid question, but whats the difference between sweet potato and a yam, and also how to figure them out .
thanks

Replies

  • HacheraTsarine
    HacheraTsarine Posts: 278 Member
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    that's funny, I always thought they were both different words for the same produce. but then again, English is not my first language...
  • Laurayinz
    Laurayinz Posts: 912 Member
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    not much. sweet potatoes are more yellow inside, yams orange.
  • knk1553
    knk1553 Posts: 438 Member
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    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams_n_1097840.html

    explains it all....essentially though in the US they're generally the same thing. What we call a Yam isn't really a yam, its sweet potato.
  • ashdawg8790
    ashdawg8790 Posts: 819 Member
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    Aren't yams the kind in a can with junk that's not sweet potato in there to preserve and sweeten the sweet potato? Or maybe someone misspelled "yums" at some point when they were describing them?
  • fit4life_7
    fit4life_7 Posts: 120 Member
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    Not a dumb question at all! We call sweet potatoes yams all of the time so it creates some confusion.

    The link knk1553 provided is great.
  • BeccaBollons
    BeccaBollons Posts: 652 Member
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    I always thought they were the same thing. If its nutritional value you want, look it up under raw sweet potato, choose the entry without a * next to it, and you can put it in grams, ounces or cups.
    If its recipes you're after, google is your friend!
    I LOVE sweet potato, and usually drizzle cubes of it in olive oil and roast (or broil depending where you're from!) For 45 mins on a medium to hot oven temp. Also makes fantastic mash, or wedges, or excellent simply baked in its skin :)

    Edit- just read that huffington post article- very informative. Every day's a school day :) now I want to try a real yam!
  • Keladelphia
    Keladelphia Posts: 820 Member
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    Sweet potatos and Yams are actully completely different and unrelated. In America (don't know where you're from) the names are used interchangeably so if you get either at the supermarket they are a variety of the same thing but real yams are not sweet, have white flesh and rough hairy skin.
  • kevindhaliwal
    kevindhaliwal Posts: 17 Member
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    aha yea the link explained it thanks everyone for the suggestions and explanations

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