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Yams
Yams in the US are really sweet potatoes with a moist texture and orange flesh. The US Department of Agriculture requires that the label "yam" always be accompanied by "sweet potato". The true yam is the root of a tropical vine which is not grown in the US. The varieties of sweet potatoes most commonly grown in the Southern US, New Jersey and California are: Garnets, Beauregards, Hanna Sweets and Jewels.
Sweet Potatoes are available year-round and are served baked, pureed, steamed, grilled, made into chips or fries, incorporated into soups, pies and many baked dishes. Sweet Potatoes are very nutritious and go well with fresh herbs for all types of dishes. From baby foods to breads, salads and casseroles, sweet potatoes are very appetizing and add good mineral and vitamin values to daily diets. A baked sweet potato provides over 8,000 IUs of vitamin A, is low in calories, high in fiber and vitamin C, calcium, iron, thiamine and beta carotene.
When purchasing sweet potatoes, look for smooth, bright, uniformly colored skin that is free of decay. Avoid product with obvious worm holes and other defects penetrating the skin - if you cut away unusable areas, the sweet potato could have a bad taste. Decay is a major problem with sweet potatoes: wet, soft decay; firm decay that begins at the end of the potato (discolored and shriveled); and dry rot in the form of sunken, discolored areas on the sides of the potatoes.
Sweet potatoes should not be stored in the cooler -- refrigeration will cause chill-damage resulting in a hard core and undesirable taste when cooked.
Sweet Potatoes are a member of the morning glory family and date back to around 750 B.C. - probably born in Mexico, Central and South America and the West Indies. Native Americans were growing the sweet potatoes in Louisiana in the 1500's and their botanical name - Ipomoca batata - was derived from groups living there. Sweet potatoes were cultivated in the Carolinas before colonization, and became a trade item with the northern states. Many settlers survived hunger by eating sweet potatoes, and physicians recommended them for their value in combating childhood nutritional diseases.
Food fact:
During the Civil War when coffee was scarce, sweet potatoes were dried, ground and brewed as a substitute! Scientists believe dinosaurs may have eaten sweet potatoes - a prehistoric vegetable?
Sweet potatoes were among the treasures found by Columbus during his voyages to the West Indies, which he brought back to Spain. The people of Spain loved this wonderful vegetable and began cultivating it and exporting it to England. From the court of Henry VIII and at the request of Louis XV of France, the sweet potato was extremely popular and today is a staple in the diets of people in many parts of the world.
Today, North Carolina is the number one producer of sweet potatoes in the US - 40% of the national supply. As a result of a two year letter writing campaign by fourth grade students at Elvie Street School in Wilson, NC, a bill passed in the General Assembly during the summer of 1995 declaring the sweet potato the "Official Vegetable of the State of North Carolina"!