The difference between sweet potatoes and yams.

[happyflowerlady]

I always thought that sweet potatoes and yams were basically the same vegetable and the sweet potato was the light yellow fleshed one, while the yam was the one that is dark golden orange inside. I have never actually grown any and harvested the produce, but I have enjoyed just growing them in a pot and watching the beautiful vine spread all over.
Now, I have learned that they are not even actually related at all, and probably, most of us here in America have never even tasted a real yam.
Everything that we grow here, regardless of color, size, or taste, is actually a sweet potato, and yams are actually much larger, darker skinned, and are native to Africa, and parts of Asia. Some of the true yams may get up to several feet long and weigh up to 20 lbs, so they would actually feed a whole family with one of them.
Here is a great article that explains the difference:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/25/difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams_n_1097840.html

 

[Pat]

I had always thought the were one and the same as you did. I met some people from Africa that offered my some yams, I expected the sweet potatoes that I grew up eating and it was something completely different. It was severed more like a paste and different.

 

[Trellum]

Thanks for sharing this amazing article! I had no idea those two were two different vegetables, I often thought they were the very same thing. Never been a big fan of them sweet potatoes or yams tho, but I'm really curious by nature, so it's really good to know

 

[Shellyann36]

I had no idea that there was such a difference. I would truly like to try the real "yams" and see what they are all about. I will have to see if I can find a market near us that has "yams". Very interesting article that you linked. Thank you for clearing up this misunderstanding.