Tuesday morning, the last Tuesday of the month. Only 4C but no wind made for a lovely walk. Hardly anyone out at 7 A.M. After we came back DH went to Gleaners and I poured myself a second cup of coffee and went to sit and watch the birds at the feeders in our back yard. Yesterday we had a Downy Woodpecker at the suet that hangs close to the window in the sunroom. He seemed not to care that we were so close by. Did he realize that the glass kept him safe from us?
Gretchen Joanna over at Gladsome Lights posted something about orange Yams and that sent me on a search to see what exactly an Orange Yam was and would I find it around here. So I'm going to post a bit of what I discovered. Feel free to skip if you are not interested.
Do you ever find yourself loitering in the produce aisle, internally debating the merits of yams versus sweet potatoes? At many grocery stores, they often look identical, but I’ve found that “yams” can be as low as 79 cents per pound, while “sweet potatoes” cost $2.49 per pound. So, what’s the difference between a sweet potato and a yam? At most markets: absolutely nothing. It’s all a facade!
The reason for the name mix-up is because Louisiana sweet potato growers in the 1930s marketed a new breed of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes as “yams” to distinguish their crop from other states’ produce—and it stuck.
True yams are part of an entirely different genus (Dioscorea; sweet potatoes belong to Ipomoea in the morning glory family) and are more akin to yuca in texture and flavor. Yams are commonly used in Caribbean and West African cooking and can grow as long and thick as an adult arm. They have bumpy, tough gray-brown skin (that looks almost like the bark of a tree and must be peeled away with a knife as it’s far too tough for a vegetable peeler).
I wonder what exactly we get at the grocery store. Whatever they are we really enjoy them and find them at the reasonable price around this time of the year.
That's it for today. Thanks for coming by.
Lovely photo and illustration. I love ❤️ sweet potatoes. Great post, thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the sweet potatoes and yams. I have never been fond of them so have never bothered to check for price in the store. I love the charming little photo at the end!
ReplyDeleteEllabie
That was a very interesting read!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I learned last year that what I call yams are really orange sweet potatoes, but I still call them yams as opposed to the light colored sweet potatoes. We like them too, and eat them throughout the winter.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Really. I always wondered what the difference was but never bothered to look it up. Love that last photo. Even the mice are celebrating.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
We do not see those woodpeckers here. We get mostly red bellied woodpeckers at our feeder. Which is a weird name for them as they are red on the head, but not the belly. That was an interesting bit about yams...
ReplyDeleteWell, that's interesting. I'm thankful that ours come from my husband's la ors in our garden. Love the little graphic at the end. Makes me want to have a tea party. ☕️🍵☕️
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I always thought they were the same thing. I sure to like to eat them. I had one for my lunch today. :)
ReplyDeleteSweet potatoes are not in my plans, but normal potatoes are very different and I have to choose the best sorts.
ReplyDeleteA lovely mousefamily ls around the table on Christmas :)
The Downy Woodpecker is so nice! I love to think about you watching the birds in front your window - and you have a second cup of tea**
Fine Santa-Klaus-header. I love it!
In the markets around here we mostly have what are called Jewel Yams or Garnet Yams, which as you found out, are not true yams. Oh, and lately I've seen purple yams. They are good, too. My recipe is actually for Yams in Orange Sauce. I should be more precise when I talk about them, because I went through the same research as you some years ago and discovered that what we call them is mostly a cultural thing, though I didn't know about the Louisiana farmers.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite nowadays is actually called an Asian or Japanese yam, and I don't know if it is a true yam or not. But it has the sweetest yellow flesh, and even the skins are consistently delicious. The texture is different from the common "yam" in the U.S., drier somehow, but not at all dry ;-) My daughter called it bread-like.
This Thanksgiving I'm making 20# of the yams in orange sauce, and I think it is jewel yams that I bought. I wouldn't want to use my favorite type in this recipe because all the intense sauce ingredients would mask the wonderful flavor -- and color!
After awhile, I just started calling them orange potatoes, but I don't think that was right either. Either way, they are one of my faves. Have you had a purple one yet? Very, very sweet.
ReplyDeleteLove the Victorian Santa pics, I can spend hours watching the birds on our feeders..
ReplyDeleteI had to look at the translation “igname” in French they look like sweet potatoes one is greyish and the other one reddish their taste must be different? I have never seen yams here only sweet potatoes potatoes.
ReplyDeleteWhen you walk at 7 it must be dark?
As a daughter of a Produce Manager, I had to laugh when I read your post. I can't tell you how many discussion we've had over the years at this time of the year. Dad used to answer that question for shoppers all the time. He always said, same thing different name. Your post is timely. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteThose little mice sitting around the table look like they are enjoying themselves very much. I like sweet potatoes/yams and it seems the stores mix the names all the time, too. It's the orange flesh ones we eat.
ReplyDeleteHave a good day, GM.
The birds certainly enjoy suet don't they ...
ReplyDeleteThat mouse family look so sweet sitting around the table.
All the best Jan
I like Yams...whatever they are called a bit of butter and some brown sugar...love them!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting about yams vs sweet potatoes. I knew there was something about it but I could not remember the details.
ReplyDeleteWe have so very few birds here, and it has been like this for the past 3 months. Many neighbors have commented on their absence. It is alarming, but I have seen no explanation.