Sweet potatoes / Yams????

[v shape]

Ive been searching for sweet potatoes like crazy and cant find them...I may be confused but are Yams the same thing?

 

[Ulter]

yeah

 

[v shape]

thanks

 

[Chunky Martin]

V Shape,

Sweet potatoes and Yams are different. It is a common mistake to think that they are the same; but they are not. With that said I think they pretty much keep them together in at the grocery store. Yams will be darker orange and will also be pointer and of less uniform size. The orange flesh is due to the presence of alpha- and beta-carotene.

If yams aren’t available to you sweet potatoes would be my next choice over regular potatoes.......................

Chunky,


PS the July issue of Flex had an article about this...............

 

[v shape]

thanks Martin, so you are saying that Yams are a better choice...Do they have a lower GI?

 

[MissChris]

From aboutproduce.com:

Sweet potatoes are often called yams; however, the two are actually different vegetables. The yam is a starchy, edible root that originates in West Africa and Asia. Sweet potatoes have origins in tropical America. True yams are imported in the U.S. on a very limited basis from the Caribbean. However, over the years, the produce and grocery industries have used the word 'yam' to describe sweet potatoes with vivid orange color and sweet, moist flesh. The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that all sweet potatoes labeled as 'yams' must also carry a 'sweet potato' label.

They are actually members of different plant families, too.

Everything you ever wanted to know about sweet potatoes vs. yams, and then some!

I found separate entries for "yam" and "sweetpotato" on a GI chart (both at 51), but I'm not sure whether they're using the terms interchangably or if the GI is actually the same.

 

[Chunky Martin]

Thanks for the additional info MissChris................

 

[mr. sparkle]

The GI values I found listed slightly different values for sweet potatoes and yams. Sweet potatoes were 54 while yams were 51. So technically yams are better for you, but I doubt there would be much of a difference.

---Mr. S---

 

[Texas Ranger]

Does anyone know the nutritional value of a sweet potato? How much does 1 cup equal(ie.Calories, Carbs & Fat)?

 

[mr. sparkle]

I'll check the foodfacts website for you...