Yams vs Sweet Potatoes
Yams & Sweet Potatoes are NOT synonymous. There are 600 Varieties of YAMS and only 400 Varieties of Sweet Potatoes. Real yams are native to Africa, Korea, South America etc.. while sweet potatoes are native to Southern United States. (Actually, the vegetable’s most ancient ancestors came from South America.) People say the confusion between sweet potatoes and yams started when African slaves used their word for African edible roots, "nyami,” (pronounced Nah-yahmee) to describe the edible roots that were native to North America. But while both sweet potatoes and yams are edible roots, there are many differences between the two crops. Yams are a common crop in many parts of the world, and although popular in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific islands, they are almost never grown in the United States. They are monocots (grasses) of the Lily family and the genus Dioscorea. Sweet potatoes are dicots (broad-leafed plants) of the Morning Glory family and the genusIpomoea. Yam tubers, which grow up to 8 feet long and weigh 100 pounds, are generally larger than sweet potatoes, which average less than 1 foot in length and weigh less than 1 pound each. Almost all the YAMS we use are found in the International Stores, Korean Markets (H-Mart, GrandMart, LA Mart, Global Foods, Lotte Markets).