Sunday, October 5, 2008

Yam or Sweet Potato?

Alrighty. So today my mom and I are going to Trader Joe's for the first time. I always see fellow bloggers going there, and I've been dying to experience it. It's far away so that's why we've never gone, but we figure the absurd amount of gas we'll be using is worth it.

As for the recipe, well... there isn't one. It's more like an experiment. For years and years and years, I've always said that sweet potatoes are my favorite food. Well, after going to Trax Farms, I saw two piles of sweet potatoes and yams. The ones I thought were sweet potatoes were actually labeled yams. I was distraught. I bought one of each and decided to have a taste test to see which one I preferred. I did a little research and the orange one is the yam... the yellow one is the sweet potato. I was surprised and upset because I hate the name yam, but i guess that's what I like better. It's so much sweeter than a sweet potato and a lot less starchy. The S.P. reminded me of a regular baked potato. So if you ever get confused about these two, here's some helpful information. And if you don't care which one you are eating, then ignore this. haha I pretty much had a photo shoot with them. My cat was pissed because I had to move her off the table, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Yam


A tropical American vine (Ipomoea batatas) having rose-violet or pale pink, funnel-shaped flowers, and cultivated for its fleshy tuberous orange root.








Sweet Potato

The pale sweet potato has a thin, light yellow skin and a pale yellow flesh. Its flavor is not sweet and after being cooked, the pale sweet potato is dry and crumbly, much like a white baking potato.







8 comments:

fleur said...

Ive been eating Yams all this time and I didnt even know it! I dont like the name Yam either, yam yam would be far cuter!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I love BOTH!

Sadly for me, someone DID see me fall. Ah, the embarrassment. But she was really nice about it and helped me up :o)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I prefer sweet potatoes - can't stand yams :0(

Saw your comment on my blog - haha, I listen to the song even MORE than you do (think about how many times I've heard it in my lifetime, throughout all my dance practices, haha!!).

By the way, where did you download your blog layout from??

Anonymous said...

hooray for trader joe's! I don't go there quite as often as I'd like, since we don't have a car, so I have to bike it, and the road is icky, and the traffic is bad. and, and, and. but now that the weather's cooler, I get to go again.
anyway, I hope you found tons of cool stuff there. be sure to update us!
sweet potatoes for the win, by the way.

Kati said...

Yams, for sure, although I don't really each much of either one. Maybe I need to have my own taste test...

Clumbsy Cookie said...

I don't really eat much them, but I like sweet potatoes. I'm not sure we can get yams here... Sad, isn't it?

Joanna said...

I just watched an episode of "Exiled" on MTV where a girl from Super Sweet Sixteen was sent to Vanuatu. They made her dig for yams in the rain and she was crying and complaining the whole time. If I found yams that were 3 feet long, I'd be jumpin for joy!

Jen Treehugger said...

AHA!
Intriguing. I too have been calling Yams Sweet Potatoes - I honestly thought they were the same thing.
You learn something new every day........
I now have to add Sweet Potato to my list of Veggies to try.