So where did all of the confusion come from? Several decades ago when orange flesh sweet potatoes were introduced into the southern United States, producers and shippers desired to distinguish them from the more traditional white flesh types. The African word “nyami” referring to the starchy, edible root of the Dioscorea genus of plants was adopted in it’s English form, “yam”.

Yams in the United States are actually sweet potatoes with relatively moist texture and orange flesh. Although the terms are generally used interchangeably, the US Department of Agriculture requires that the label “yam” always be accompanied by “sweet potato.”

“Yams”, as the industry and general public perceives them, are actually sweet potatoes with a vivid orange color and a soft moist consistency when cooked, and tend to have a sweeter flavor. Other varieties of sweet potatoes are lighter skinned and have a firmer, drier texture when cooked. Sweet potatoes are smooth with skins that can vary in color, depending on the variety, from pale yellow to deep purple to vivid orange. Flesh colors can range from light yellow to pink, red or orange.

I love your recipes, thank you so much for sharing them with us. I am storing them for when I am not ready for vacation and need something cool to make.

Sweet potatoes are typically what we call yams and yams are actually rare to have here. Yams are from Africa and Sweet Potatoes got misnamed as yams back in the days of slaves. They were similar to yams of their homeland, so they called them yams.

It was interesting research. That looks like a delicious recipe that I will be trying out very soon :)