Difference between a sweet potato and yam?

Posted by hollyclegg, December 6, 2008 at 10:14 AM

Tis the season of the yams! We know our holiday table wouldn’t be complete without a bubbling hot rich sweet potato casserole. Or is it a yam casserole and what's the difference? Well, a true yam actually is a tuber grown in the tropics, and a true sweet potato is an enlarged root of the sweet potato plant that is starchy when harvested but becomes sweeter after storage. In the 1930's, as Louisiana sweet potatoes were shipped to the eastern states, the consumer recognized that Louisiana sweet potatoes were moist, sweet and soft when baked. Thus, "Louisiana Yams" (yam comes from African word “nyami” means “to eat”) became the trademark of the Louisiana sweet potato distinguishing them as the sweetest and most moist variety.

Sweet potatoes can be a versatile ingredient. What is your favorite creative sweet potato recipe using yams? Besides the sweet potato casserole. I think I will post my Sweet Potato Praline Coffee Cake....my absolute favorite!

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