I Yam What I Yam – or Not

I guess it was the cool weather this morning that made me begin to think of all things fall…long-sleeved shirts, jeans instead of shorts, chrysanthemums, football games, and of all things, sweet potatoes.

I don’t get really excited about sweet potatoes as a rule, and usually only  eat them once or twice a year, Thanksgiving not counting as one of those times ‘cause what would that meal be without some sort of sweet potato concoction on the table? For some reason though, that tater speaks to me of fall and pumpkins and Halloween and clear, chilly weather.   So, now let’s get the obvious question out of the way.  Is it a sweet potato or is it a yam? And if there is a difference, why do we use sweet potatoes to prepare candied yams?

The bottom line here is that yams are not widely grown or marketed in the United States. It’s the tuber of a tropical vine that grows in Central and South America and is sold primarily in Latin American markets. It can be as small as a potato or as large as 120 pounds. The flesh can range from off-white to yellow or pink to purple, depending on the variety.

Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, can be found in two varieties around here: the pale one with the yellowish skin and bright yellow flesh with the texture of a white baking potato, and the darker skinned one with the sweeter moist flesh. Yellow sweet potatoes are like yellow tomatoes somehow, it just ain’t quite right. They’re supposed to be darker orange and rich tasting, not pale and bland. And, surprise, surprise: they are a cousin of the morning glory!

So why do we call the dish candied yams and not candied sweet potatoes? It seems that most recipes use the terms interchangeably which makes things even more confusing.   Well, nobody’s going to lose any sleep over this, but I will tell you a few more interesting things if you’re wondering about the value of a sweet potato in your diet. They are relatively low in calories and contain no fat. They are rich in beta-carotene and have five times the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A in one potato; they are loaded with potassium, and both these nutrients help to protect against heart attack and stroke. The potassium helps maintain fluid and electrolyte balance in the body cells, as well as normal heart function and blood pressure. Yams do not contain as much vitamin A or C as sweet potatoes.

When I went off to college and experienced the usual homesickness when it came to food, an aunt very graciously would send me large quantities of grated sweet potato pudding. I don’t think the term “comfort food” was in general use at that time, but I tell you what, there couldn’t have been any other dish that could have grounded me in a new place like that treat. No matter what time of year it was, the homely ol’ sweet potato did the trick.   And I bet she didn’t even realize how healthy that stuff was…or may she   did.

Now that we know that sweet potatoes are full of all kinds of good health benefits and create a down home, comfortable feeling, I guess there will be more of them on my table. Baked, grated into pudding, or sliced up with apples in a casserole, any way will do. Of course, a little cinnamon and butter or marshmallows melted on top won’t  hurt.