Are 'yams' really sweet potatoes?

[marvinsamuels]

As a descendent of Jamaicans I eat both yam and sweet potatoes. They were always two different foods with distinct tastes. It’s interesting to hear the name used in the US.

[ForestFire]

Yam doesn't sound like a word anymore

[tinaloye]

I’m from west Africa and I never knew sweet potatoes existed till I moved and then ppl called it yam and I was so confused like what are you guys sniffing? It’s not a yam.

[erickamorillo]

In the Philippines, ube (ooh-beh) is a staple! It’s naturally sweet, naturally purple in colour and used in desserts all the time. It tastes very earthy and similar to vanilla, but better.

[sharlene]

No confusion in the Caribbean, we've always known the difference.

[wildwitchwest]

"I yam what I yam, and what i yam, is the luckiest man in the world 🥂"

[bbpoisonn]

The yam is the power that be

You can smell it when I’m walking down the street

[mushieroom]

In NZ we call a different veggie a yam, it looks nothing like a sweet potato (which is called kumara here), it’s more lumpy, has a mushy texture, and is usually red or purple-ish. Was hoping you guys would touch on it!

[ginandromeda]

As a spanish native speaker I never understood this confusion, we call yams "ñames" and sweet potatoes "batatas" (it has its variation depending on each spanish dialect) so there was nothing for me to get confused over

[someone]

My world fell apart after this information.

[Genevieve]

I grew up eating real yams, they were just in our local supermarket. But, I'm from a West Indian neighborhood, so there was a demand for it.

[vedangarekar]

Sweet potatoes in India do have white/yellowish flesh.
We also have yams, Ube and all the various kinds of tubers.

[mscardioqueen]

In Jamaica, there is a difference between a yam and sweet potato.

[superdark]

and the species that the sweet potato is from "ipomea" is also related to the morning glory!

[jeannemabrey]

Yams were always available in the USA, I got them at my local A&P. I MISTAKENLY used yams in my sweet potato pies; I've never done that again!

[Wakeupgrandowl]

I hate when people call sweet potatoes yams. NO

[oldvlognewtricks]

A bit like how ‘apple’ used to mean pretty much any fruit or round vegetable

[sisyarinifridayulia]

Yeah, this is the explanation I've been Waiting for so long...

[loonyt]

In New Zealand yams refer to oca (oxalis tuberosa) and sweet potato are called kumara

[icajunwoo]

Meanwhile me who has yams growing at the back of my house