November is National Sweet Potato Awareness Month. The focus of this celebration is to inform people of the differences between sweet potatoes and yams.
There is a bit of confusion when it comes to the yam. What most people call a yam is actually a sweet potato, and it’s possible that you’ve never even tasted a yam! Here are some fun facts for you to share with family and friends:
- A true yam is a starchy edible root and is generally imported from the Caribbean. It has a dry, starchy and more potato-like flesh that is usually not very sweet. Some yams are the size and shape of small potatoes; others can grow up to 5ft in length and weigh over 100 lbs. Most have a dark bark-like skin.
- Sweet potatoes are almost always sweeter than yams. They are more slender in appearance than a potato, and have tapered ends. In the U.S., the majority of sweet potatoes are sold in one of four varieties:
- Rose color skin with orange flesh
- Pale copper/tan skin with white flesh
- Red skin, dry white flesh
- Purple skin and flesh
- Sweet potatoes are very nutritious. They have more sugar, protein, calcium, iron, sodium, vitamin A, beta-carotene, and water than yams.
- Yams are also very nutritious. They have more fat, carbs, fiber, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and vitamin E than sweet potatoes.
- Yams are grown around the world, but 95% of them are grown in West Africa.
- In the U.S., over 50% of our sweet potatoes are grown in North Carolina.
Thanksgiving is almost here. Are you ready to put a big scoop of sweet potatoes on your plate and have a slice of sweet potato pie? I am!
