what is the difference???

Question

between yams and sweet potatoes???

and in the old wives tale, is it yams OR sweet potatoes that
increase fertility???

Answer 1

They are NOT the same thing. It's hard to find real yams in the U.S., though, and what are sold as yams are really sweet potatoes. I remember this from an episode of "America's Test Kitchen", but can't be more specific than that. Real yams are much larger than sweet potatoes and are native to Africa.

Answer 2

I remember someone on the Food Network explaining it, but I forget. Here's two websites that might help you out though :)

http://kitchen.apartmenttherapy.com/food/good-questions/good-question-yams-vs-sweet-potatoes-014970
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-23-a.html

There's a little comparison chart on the second site. Hope this helps :)

Oh and regarding the wives tale...I've seen both. I heard one that included wild yam juice and one that included a diet rich in sweet potatoes. Sorry..not really sure which it was.

Answer 3

The sweetpotato is native to Peru and Central America and some South Pacific islands. It is in the Morning Glory family, Convolvulacea. The yam is more specific to Africa.

The word “yam” comes from the African word, “nyami.”
It is said that the word “yam” was used for sweetpotatoes in Colonial times by the slaves and indigenous people from Africa because of their similarity to true yams. As time went on, the state of Louisiana picked up the term “yam” and used it in the advertising of their sweetpotatoes, in order to distinguish theirs from the sweetpotatoes grown in the northeastern states. Now, the term “yam” is market terminology to denote a moist-fleshed sweetpotato after it is cooked or baked. All yams grown in the United States are sweetpotatoes, and the USDA requires that they be labeled as such..

Answer 4

yams and sweet potatoes are the same but fixed diff....yams are made with marshmellow and is made in a homemade syrup, also called candy yams.......but i dont know about the old wives tail......maybe more love makeing to increase fertality?