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There is a lot of confusion between what is a Sweet Potato and what is a Yam. Unless what you're buying in your supermarket is canned and says "Yams", or is a big, big chunk of root cut off of a bigger root and wrapped in plastic, then what you're buying is a Sweet Potato, no matter what the sign posted on the vegetable counter says.

Sweet Potatoes aren't actually even related to Yams. Sweet Potatoes aren't actually related to potatoes, for that matter. Potatoes are tubers of a plant, whereas Sweet Potatoes are engorged storage roots. You can grow potatoes by cutting out and planting a portion that has an "eye" (bud) in it. Sweet Potatoes never produce "eyes." They will sprout if you put one in a glass of water, but won't do much of anything other than moulder away if you bury one in the ground.

Sweet Potatoes, however, are shaped like potatoes, and are about the same size, but instead of rounded ends, their ends will often be slightly or very tapered. The skin is pretty much tan-coloured, though sometimes this will range to pinkish or coppery. Some will have white flesh inside, some will have purply flesh, but most often the ones that have yellow or orange flesh are preferred as this indicates the presence of carotene (which the body can convert to vitamin A as needed.) Sweet Potatoes thrive in hot, moist climates.

Sweet Potatoes are usually cured after harvesting. The curing involves being stored for about 5 days at 85 F (30 C); this dries them out a bit, to preserve their storage life, and converts some of the starch to sugar, making them sweeter.

People in the southern United States prefer varieties which are "moist-fleshed", which they often call (erroneously) call Yams. In the Northern States, Canada and the UK, people prefer the "dry-flesh" ones. In the southern states, though, Sweet Potatoes are also used as livestock feed, something that northerners wouldn't do owing to the cost of shipping them in.

Sweet Potatoes are still generally regarded as a festive food for holidays, though Sweet Potato growers are doing their best to make consumers think of them as do people in the southern United States, for whom they are more of an everyday staple.

When buying Sweet Potatoes, don't pay much attention to the appearance of the skin (unless the poor thing has huge bruises or open running sores.) Don't buy any, though, that have blotchy white areas; they have probably been damaged and are decaying. To pick a good one, heft it in your hand, and see that it feels heavy for its size.

Cooking Tips
To make peeling them easier, you can plunge them in boiling water for a minute, then into cold water. To keep peeled raw Sweet Potatoes from browning, place them in cold water mixed with a bit of lemon juice until you need them, then drain. I find that if you boil them, they lose a lot of their flavour. Boil them if you like, but they sweeten up extra nice when baked.

Substitutes
Yams (or in pies and baking, cooked pumpkin or squash)

Nutrition
A Sweet Potato has 3 to 6% sugar content, which increases during the early stages of cooking as enzymes break its starch down into glucose components. It provides more calories, minerals and vitamins, but less protein, than a white potato. Yellow and orangish-fleshed Sweet Potatoes are rich in carotene (which your body converts to Vitamin A as needed).

Sweet Potatoes contain apparently more vitamin A than any other vegetable.

Equivalents
1-1/2 cups = 1 pound (450g) fresh Sweet Potatoes
1 cup mashed, plain = 325g = 11 1/2 oz by weight

Storage
As with potatoes, do not store uncooked Sweet Potatoes in the refrigerator. They taste best when allowed to age for at least a month after harvesting (as sugar starts to form immediately afterward.)

History
Columbus found the natives of Central America cultivating Sweet Potatoes. Spanish explorers brought the Sweet Potato to Spain, where it was being grown by the middle of the 1500s, as well as to tropical areas such as the Philippines, India and China.

They were being grown in Virginia in the early half of the 1600s, and by 1764 were being grown in New England. People in Virginia were so fond of Sweet Potatoes, that in the mid 1800s they were served for dessert.

Literature & Lore
The natives of Yucatan and Honduras told the Spanish that the Sweet Potatoes were called "batatas". It's not too great a stretch of the imagination to see how the word "potatoes came about from that.

Also called:

See Also:

Yams

Other entries for:

Sweet Potatoes
Japanese Yams, Okinawan Sweet Potatoes, Yaki-Imo

Other entries for:

Potatoes
AC Glacier Chip Potatoes, Aida Potatoes, Alamo Potatoes, Alasclear Potatoes, Alaska Red-Eye Potatoes, Alaska Russet Potatoes, Alaska Sweetheart Potatoes, Albas Potatoes, All-Purpose Potatoes, Allegheny Mountain Potatoes, Allehanna Potatoes, Alta Russet Potatoes, Alturas Potatoes, Amorosa Potatoes, Amyla Potatoes, Anita Potatoes, Antigo Potatoes, Arenac Potatoes, Arran Banner Potatoes, Arran Comet Potatoes, Ashworth Potatoes, Assia Potatoes, Avon Potatoes, Beauty of Hebron Potatoes, Berita Potatoes, Black Potatoes, Bounty Potatoes, Bovee Potatoes, Burbank Potatoes, Calgold Potatoes, Calrose Potatoes, Canary Island Potatoes, Canus Potatoes, Cariboo Potatoes, Caruso Potatoes, Chenango Potatoes, Chinook Potatoes, Chisago Potatoes, Conchita Potatoes, Creamer Potatoes, Crushed Potatoes, Dazoc Potatoes, Delus Potatoes, DeSota Potatoes, Donna Potatoes, Earlaine Potatoes, Early Gem Potatoes, Early Rose Potatoes, Eide Russet Potatoes, Empire Potatoes, Erendira Potatoes, Erie Potatoes, Erli-Red Potatoes, Essex Potatoes, Fillmore Potatoes, Fingerling Potatoes, Floury Potatoes, Glenmeer Potatoes, Golf Potatoes, Grelot Potatoes, Industrial Potatoes, Instant Mashed Potato Flakes, Irish Peace Potatoes, Irish Queen Potatoes, Jersey Redskin Potatoes, K N I K Potatoes, Kasota Potatoes, Lake Potatoes, Langworthy Potatoes, Madison Potatoes, Manota Potatoes, Marygold Potatoes, Mason Potatoes, Maverick Potatoes, Mazama Potatoes, McCormick Potatoes, Menominee Potatoes, Merrimack Potatoes, Mesaba Potatoes, Michibonne Potatoes, Michigami Potatoes, Michigan Purple Potatoes, Michimac Potatoes, Miranda Potatoes, Mohawk Potatoes, Myatt's Ash-Leaf Kidney Potatoes, Oneida Potatoes, Ontario Potatoes, Osage Potatoes, Osseo Potatoes, Pele Potatoes, Pennigan Potatoes, Potato Chips, Pride Potatoes, Red Warba Potatoes, Redburt Potatoes, Redglo Potatoes, Redkote Potatoes, Reliance Potatoes, Sassy Potatoes, Satapa Potatoes, Seresta Potatoes, Shamrock Potatoes, Snowdrift Potatoes, St Louis Potatoes, Starch Potatoes, Sylvia Potatoes, Tawa Potatoes, Thome Black Potatoes, Ulster Tara Potatoes, Ute Russet Potatoes, Valisa Potatoes, Virgil Potatoes, Waimea Potatoes, Ware Potatoes, Waxy Potatoes, White Cloud Potatoes, White Gold Potatoes, Yankee Chipper Potatoes, York Potatoes, Yorkshire Hero Potatoes, Zahov Potatoes

Other entries for:

Root Vegetables
Añú, Beet, Carrots, Cassava, Celery Root, Crosne, Garlic, Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichokes, Jicama, Konjac Root, Malanga, Oca, Onions, Parsnips, Prairie Turnip, Radishes, Rutabaga, Salsify, Scorzonera, Sea Holly, Swede, Taro, Turnips, Water Chestnuts, Yacon, Yamagoboo, Yams

Other entries for:

Vegetables
Agave, Artichokes, Asparagus, Brassica Family, Canned Vegetables, Cardoons, Celery, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Frozen Vegetables, Gourds, Horseradish Tree, Leafy Vegetables, Lotus, Mixed Vegetables, Mushrooms, Pak Wan, Peas, Peppers, Sago Palm, Seaweed, Spinach, Sprouts, Squash, Tomatoes, Viscous Vegetables

Related Recipes

Marshmallow Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Sweet Potato with Parmesan, Roasted Root Vegetable Salad, Sweet Potato and Cranberry Nutbread