Yam Fries

Yam fries – mmm… yummy. In all seriousness though, ‘yam fries’ are my number one side dish for anything I order in a good restaurant. They are crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and a great healthy substitute for regular ‘French fries’. Just add a chipotle mayo, and there is no such snack that beats yams!

These are the restaurants I would suggest to go and try their yams: Hub Restaurant, Cactus Club and The Keg Steakhouse.

Recipe:

-Sweet potatoes

-Olive oil

-Sea salt

-Black pepper

Yam or Sweet Potato?

While doing my research about yam this is what I got to know…

Did you know that yam and sweet potato are not even related? Fact: they come from two very different vegetable families and have nothing in common (never expected this!) The surprising part is what we’ve been calling ‘yam’ is in fact sweet potato, and there is a possibility that we haven’t even tasted a real yam!

Sweet potatoes belong to the family of the so-called ‘genus Ipomoea’ and originated in Central and South America, but also famous in North America and available all over the world. Sweet potatoes are consumed in many different ways including fried, mashed, baked and used in both savory or sweet dishes. This vegetable is very nutritious, and a great source of calcium, sugar, iron, sodium and vitamin A.

Now moving forward to the yams, they come from Africa and Asia, most famous in Caribbean markets, and its scientific name is ‘Dioscorea’. Compare to sweet potatoes yams are usually starchy root vegetables, they taste more like regular potato and not as sweet as sweet potato. Yams are more nutritious than sweet potatoes and rich in carbs, fiber, potassium, and vitamins like C, B6, and E.

Word ‘yam’ comes from African ‘nyami’ which means ‘to eat’. Sweet potatoes often called ‘yam’ because African slaves in America started calling sweet potatoes ‘yam’ due to similarities and simply because it reminded them of their ‘yams’ in Africa. This is where the confusion comes from!

Pictures retrieved from https://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/sweet-potatoes-yams/, https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/sweet-potato-fries/ Sweet potato/Yam facts retrieved from https://www.thespruceeats.com/sweet-potatoes-vs-yams-1808067, https://ncsweetpotatoes.com/sweet-potatoes-101/difference-between-yam-and-sweet-potato/ Recipe retrieved from https://www.inspiredtaste.net/25387/baked-sweet-potato-fries-recipe/