Yams vs sweet potatoes skin#

Yams have a lot of the same starchiness as traditional potatoes, while sweet potatoes can be softer and gooier. Sweet potatoes live up to the вЂsweetвЂ™ in their name, while yams are more earthy and neutral. вЂ‹вЂ‹While yams and sweet potatoes are the same in their application, they differ in taste, texture, and appearance. The fact that they are used in similar ways to yams is part of what hitches these two vegetables at the hip.

When you hit the kitchen with sweet potatoes, you can bake them, boil them, mash them, braise them, and roast them.

Yams vs sweet potatoes skin#

Purple sweet potatoes have purple flesh and skin thatвЂ™s been described as dusty and tan in color (still, with a hint of purple).There is also an Oriental/Japanese variety with a dark purple skin and white flesh that is sweet and nutty. Appearance wise, they look the most like yams. White sweet potatoes have light brown skin with pale flesh.Orange sweet potatoes have purple or copper skin and orange flesh, and many consider them to be the most traditional.You are likely to find some sweet potatoes labeled as yams at the store. Ipomoea batatas is the scientific name for sweet potatoes, coming from the dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family. They tend to shine most when boiled or braised. They can be used in stews and soups or anytime youвЂ™re braising meat. They take on the taste of the elements around them.Дespite their flavor differences, you can cook yams similarly to sweet potatoes: boiled, roasted, fried, and baked.

YouвЂ™ll find that yams have a more neutral flavor that can make other seasonings and ingredients the real star of a dish. They wonвЂ™t yield a sweet flavor like sweet potatoes when cooked.

They have rough brown skin and texture, not unlike what you typically see on a yucca or russet potato. I found them extremely difficult to find, except for nagaimo, which is at my local Asian market. Varieties within this plant family include dioscorea rotundata (white yam), dioscorea cayenensis (yellow yam), dioscorea bulbifera (potato yam), dioscorea esculenta (Lesser yam), dioscorea alata, (Ube or purple yam), and dioscorea polystachya (Chinese yam or nagaimo). Yams are indigenous to Africa and Asia and come from the plant species called dioscorea.