Aren’t yams and sweet potatoes the same thing?
For many of us, the termssweet potatoand yam may be interchangeable.
The truth is, generations of Americans have been getting it wrong.
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Sweet potatoes and yams are not the same.
They are two separate foods that aren’t even from the same family.
Why the Confusion?
If yams and sweet potatoes are different from each other, what caused their names to be used interchangeably?
The answer: marketing.
So, What Is a Yam?
A yam is the modified stem or tuber of a tropical vine calledDioscorea batatas.
There are more than 150 different yam varieties in the world.
They have a more cylindrical shape with rough, scaly skin that’s brown and almost tree-bark-like in appearance.
Real yams are not widely available in the U.S. ## What Is a Sweet Potato?
They are native to the Americas but grown in many parts of the world.
Thousands of different varieties exist today.
Compared to yams, sweet potatoes are shorter.
They usually have a bulging middle with ends that taper to a point.
In the U.S., sweet potatoes are generally categorized into two types: firm and soft.
Firm sweet potatoes usually have generallypale skinand flesh and are drier and less sweet.
Soft sweet potatoes are usually darker all around and are moister and sweeter.
These orange-fleshed varieties are the ones most commonly mistaken for “yams.”
The Bottom Line
A yam is a tuber.
A sweet potato is a root.
Yams tend to be more cylindrical and have scaly, bark-like skin.
Sweet potatoes tend to have a more tapered shape and may be firm or soft with thinner skin.
Generally, sweet potatoes taste sweeter than yams.
