what actually is the difference between a yam and a sweet potato?

Question

seems to me they look and taste pretty much the same. Are they interchangeable and is there any difference in taste?

Answer 1

yam
n.
1. Any of numerous chiefly tropical vines of the genus Dioscorea, many of which have edible tuberous roots.
2. The starchy root of any of these plants, used in the tropics as food.
3. Chiefly Southern U.S. See sweet potato. See Regional Note at goober.

sweet potato
n.
a. A tropical American vine (Ipomoea batatas) having rose-violet or pale pink, funnel-shaped flowers, and cultivated for its fleshy tuberous orange root.
b. The root of this vine, eaten cooked as a vegetable. Also called regionally yam.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sweet%2...

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/yam...

Answer 2

Sweet potatoes are not true yams - they belong to the morning glory family, while true yams belong to the plant family which grows only in the tropics. The true yam is rarely available anywhere in the United States even though some say a few may be found in the extreme southern part of the country. The term "yam" is used here as a trade name that refers to the moist flesh type of sweet potato. The Department of Agriculture designates sweet potatoes as "dry flesh" or as "moist flesh" according to the sensation experienced in the mouth during the eating of cooked sweet potatoes. (The terms do not refer to the actual moisture content of the potato.)

Answer 3

the name

Answer 4

Yam tastes better than a sweey potato.Yam is thicker in the body.therefore more feeling inside your body.

Answer 5

A yam is easier to spell, and easier to rhyme with.

Answer 6

It's a different color and one is form africa