Sweet Potatoes

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I Yam Not!

Sweet Potatoes, (why they're sometimes called American Yams), and Great New Ways to Use Them.

What confusion! Yams? Sweet potatoes? The orangy-sweet tubers that grace the shelves and our tables this time of year — what the heck are they? Besides delicious and much overlooked, that is.

Recipes Here:

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Caramelized Onion Burritos
Ina Garten's Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Rachel's Ginger Spiced Sweet Potato Pie
Rachel's Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting
Sweet Potato, Lamb and Sausage Stew

Apparently, they’re sweet potatoes. Before the 1950’s, most Americans were used to a sweet potato that was a drier, white-fleshed variety. You can still find the white sweet potato in stores; and it tends to be grown in more northern states as well as the Chesapeake region (hence, our region's famous sweet potato pie).

Jewel, Hannah and Garnet Sweet Potatoes

The moister, orange-colored sweet potato varieties are grown more in the South, and were given the name “yam” as they were introduced to the North, to differentiate them from the white variety. They supposedly are also called yams in the South because they reminded the African slaves of the true yams from their homeland.

Sweet potatoes are not even remotely related to yams, which are starchier tubers and can grow to be enormous, over two feet in length — and they're not related to potatoes.

They're root vegetables (not tubers), which puts them in the same category as carrots and beets. They grow from a vine in the morning glory family. Interestingly, sweet potatoes offer much the same nutritional profile as other root vegetables, including a sweet flavor and mega-high levels of vitamin A.

So – they’re sweet potatoes. Now what?

• First, let’s move on from the canned/candied yam stuff, and all the added sugar. They’re sweet enough.

• You can bake sweet potatoes whole. Microwave (8 minutes). Peel and roast them in cubes. Oven-fry them, deep-fry them as chips. Use in stews and braises, but add them late in the process, they cook quickly.

• The sugar in the sweet potato is balanced well by a tangy acid, such as tomatoes (or orange or lime juice). It also works well with the savory flavors of fall: game meats and pork, rosemary, thyme and sage.

• Considering its roots (no pun intended) the sweet potato is a natural with Latin American, Caribbean and even Mediterranean flavors. One of my favorite recipes is from the treasured and well-stained Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash. “Sweet Potato, Lamb and Sausage Stew” using tomatoes, Italian sausage, cumin and ginger.

• More tips:
— 1 lb. of sweet potatoes yields 1 to 1-1/4 cup pureed or mashed.
— Store raw sweet potatoes at cool room temperature. Don’t store them in the refrigerator.
— Sweet potatoes can oxidize when peeled, place them in water to prevent discoloration or cook immediately.
— Use in place of mashed pumpkin in cake and cookie recipes.
— Mashed sweet potatoes freeze well.
— 1 baked sweet potato contains:

95 calories
262% DV vitamin A
28% DV vitamin C
12% DV vitamin B6