Whats The Difference Between A Yam And A Sweet Potato

A true yam is a starchy edible root of the dioscorea genus and is generally imported to america from the caribbean.

These are likely the ones you eat around the holidays. In fact an african yam may reach as large as 100 pounds 45 35 kilograms. Sweet potatoes with dark skin and orange colored flesh are typically sweeter and softer and found at most grocery stores. Try sweet potato fries mashed sweet potatoes roasted sweet potatoes or loaded baked sweet potatoes to name a few.

African yams are less sweet larger and starchier. It is rough and scaly and very low in beta carotene. Depending on the variety sweetpotato flesh can vary from white to orange and even purple. Yams are sweeter than the sweet potato grow much larger and are also nutritionally inferior.

They also tend to have a good shelf life. Sweet potato has smooth skin with moist flesh that varies in colors they can be white yellow to orange and even purple much like a yam. However certain varieties store better than others. One half cup of sweet potato supplies double that amount.

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And when it comes to recipe ideas the possibilities are endless. Compared to sweet potatoes yams are less sweet and much more starchy and dry. As for how they stack up nutritionally both vegetables pack a big punch. Sweet potatoes also have a lower glycemic index number than yams meaning their carbohydrate is released more slowly into the bloodstream.

According to bauer a 100 gram serving of yams provides about 30 percent of your daily dose of vitamin c and about 800 mg of potassium. In the us the two foods may be distinguished because the sweet potato tends to be less sweet than the yam.